'Job's not finished': Padres celebrate before fixing eyes on bigger prize

LOS ANGELES -- Inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night, the air was thick with the scent of cheap champagne, expensive cigars and a whole lot of relief.

For months, the San Diego Padres lived on the edge. They were three games under .500 in late July, hit an eight-game losing streak, and relied on a strategy dubbed "pitching chaos" just to keep their hopes alive.

But after a gritty 4-2 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers to officially seal their third consecutive postseason berth -- and a fifth appearance in seven seasons -- any doubt dissolved into an all-out celebration.

"We're here for a reason. We're ready to compete," Fernando Tatis Jr. said. "Nobody thought about us this year, but we found a way, we found our groove, and here we are."

The celebration was as loud as it was earned. Players danced, tossed ice buckets and celebrated the end of a six-month grind.

At the center of it all was 20-year-old top prospect Ethan Salas. Called up Sept. 1, the rookie catcher came through Thursday with two huge hits, starting a sixth-inning rally with a single and driving in a run in the seventh.

And his instant impact has not gone unnoticed.

He's been amazing," Tatis said. "He's ready for The Show. He's going to help us in a lot of ways."

"[It was] only a matter of time [before he got called up]," Mason Miller said. "We didn't know when it was going to be, but we knew he was going to be here. We know he's going to be an impact player. So it couldn't have come at a better time. … Just being able to come through and get us in here with a win, now we celebrate."

Salas -- who kept getting interrupted mid-interview by teammates screaming, "Yeah E!" and pouring more drinks on him -- gave all the credit to his teammates.

"The boys have given me enough confidence to go out there and play, so I just try to be myself," Salas said. "Job's not finished. We've got a lot more work that needs to be done, but we're looking forward to it."

That same sentiment was echoed just a few feet away by Manny Machado. As the third baseman spoke with reporters, a teammate sneaked up from behind and dumped a bottle of champagne over his head.

"Here we are celebrating, enjoying ourselves," Machado said with a laugh, wiping foam from his eyes. "I've never won a championship, but I know what it looks like. It takes a whole village to do it. We've been showing it this year. There's been a lot of guys contributing in so many different ways."

Among those contributors, Machado pointed right back to his rookie catcher guiding the staff.

"I think the most impressive part has been what he's been doing with the fingers," Machado said of Salas. "To call a staff that you really haven't had all year -- you've been here three weeks and you've been calling the game that you've been calling -- it shows a lot about what we have there. Obviously, offensively, what he's been doing, it's been nice to have in the bottom of the lineup."

In the middle of all the noise was first-year manager Craig Stammen, taking in his first playoff clinch as a skipper. He was a little more calm than his players, but he couldn't hide his pride in how they handled the ups and downs.

"It's a very satisfying season because we've had to fight through some tough times, and the tough times make you stronger," Stammen said. "These guys are a very strong team right now. When you mix talent with high-character people, you can accomplish a lot."

Players and staff weren’t the only ones in on the celebration. Kwanza Jones, who became a principal owner alongside her husband, José E. Feliciano, in August 2026, soaked in her first postseason clinch with the organization.

"I have high expectations, so it's exactly where I thought," Jones said. "I say faith without action is nothing. We have the faith, we have the action, we put in the work, and we're going to keep going."

For players like outfielder Samad Taylor, Thursday was proof of how far the group had come together over six grueling months.

"If you look at us in June and you look at us now, it's a completely different camaraderie," Taylor said. "We all came together, and our only goal is to hold that trophy up at the end of the season. Whatever it takes to do that, we're gonna do it."