The San Diego Padres have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
On Wednesday, the Padres completed a two-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Series, winning Game 2, 5-4. Here are three takeaways from the action.
Padres quick-strike offense could be dangerous moving forward
In Game 1, the Padres got to work early against starter AJ Smith-Shawver, who allowed three runs after facing only nine batters. The same could be said about San Diego’s offense in Game 2.
Trailing the Braves 1-0, the Padres put together a five-run second inning, recording six straight hits to push five runs across the plate while chasing starter Max Fried from the game.
Kyle Higashioka started the rally, homering for the second straight game, followed by a two-run double by Manny Machado and a two-run triple by rookie Jackson Merrill to blow the game wide open, 5-1. According to OptaStats, the Padres are the first team in MLB history to record six consecutive hits and hit for the cycle in the same inning of a playoff game.
