Photo via Yahoo Sports

Padres clinch playoff spot; seek home-field series

Following a difficult start to the campaign that featured sub-.500 baseball through late July, the San Diego squad dramatically reversed its fortunes to lock down a Wild Card berth for the third consecutive year. The organization turned around its season thanks to a scorching 39-17 stretch, key mid-season pitching additions, and strong contributions across the roster.

Meanwhile, twenty-year-old rookie catcher Ethan Salas overcame a slow introduction to big-league pitching by hitting well in recent outings and successfully utilizing automated ball-strike challenges to assist his pitching staff during crucial game moments. With the postseason spot secured, the team now focuses on finalizing its exact postseason positioning and capturing the opening-round hosting rights.

Up nextMLB· 39m ago

Robbie Ray gets nod in Game 1 against Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers