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How They Got There: Padres advance to NLCS

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April 14: A picture-perfect home opener

Hometown kid Joe Musgrove's 6 2/3 scoreless IP and Manny Machado's 5 hits got the Padres off to quite a start at Petco Park

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May 8: Alfaro’s legend is born

Jorge Alfaro’s Mother's Day homer was the 1st of his franchise-record 4 walk-offs this season. (Plus, his mom had predicted it.)

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June 5: 3 straight in Milwaukee

Who knew it at the time, but the Padres’ 3 wins over the Brewers in early June would prove critical in the NL Wild Card race

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June 24: Brotherly love

Austin Nola’s single off his brother, Aaron, was the difference in a dramatic 1-0 Padres victory

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July 16: Trade winds swirl

The Padres beat the D-backs the same day the baseball world learned the Nats were open to dealing Juan Soto. The wheels were in motion.

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Aug. 2: Blockbuster upon blockbuster

On a historic Trade Deadline day, the Padres swept a doubleheader vs. the Rockies, with new closer Josh Hader getting the win in Game 2

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Aug. 3: Soto arrives

The Padres introduced Juan Soto and Josh Bell in a press conference then blew out the Rockies before a packed Petco Park

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Aug. 7: Swept in LA

For all of their Deadline moves, the new-look Padres got a bit of a humbling in L.A., swept by the 1st-place Dodgers

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Aug. 9: Machado’s MVP moment

In a season full of brilliant Manny Machado moments, his walk-off 3-run blast to end a 5-game skid was the most dramatic

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Aug. 12: Stunning news

MLB announced that Fernando Tatis Jr. would be suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance

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Aug. 31: Hader is back

Some early struggles saw him lose the closer role, but Josh Hader regained the title by locking down a sweep with a save in S.F.

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Sept. 6: Wild Card race gets wild

On a night the Brewers blew a 5-run lead in Colorado, the Padres rallied from a 5-run deficit to beat Arizona on Jorge Alfaro’s walk-off single

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Sept. 16: Melvin’s moment

After Bob Melvin called out his team for its poor performance, the Padres responded with a 12-3 rout in Arizona that started a 5-game win streak

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Oct. 2: Help from some friends

The Padres found out mid-game that they had clinched a Wild Card berth, and the fans made it known that they had heard the news

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Oct. 9: Padres advance to NLDS

Joe Musgrove pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and the offense tacked on relentlessly to set up a date with the rival Dodgers

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Oct. 15: Padres solve Dodgers

After going 5-14 vs. the Dodgers in the regular season, the Padres needed only 4 games to dispatch their longtime rivals in the NLDS

Postseason schedule