Ty France clouted a three-run homer to cap a six-run fifth inning Friday night as the San Diego Padres stopped the visiting Miami Marlins 8-2 to forge a three-way tie atop the National League’s wild-card standings.
Winning for the 11th time in 12 games, San Diego (85-69) pulled even with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia, who both lost earlier Friday night. The Padres’ magic number for clinching a playoff spot dropped to five.
Nick Pivetta (3-2) earned the win by working the first five innings, yielding four hits and a run with a walk and four strikeouts. Marlins reliever Cade Gibson (5-2) was tagged with the loss after yielding the first two runs in the game-changing fifth.
Xander Bogaerts led off with a double and reached third on Jake Cronenworth’s single. Samad Taylor greeted reliever Tyler Zuber with a bunt single to fill the bases. After Ethan Salas’ shallow fly ball netted Zuber an out, Fernando Tatis Jr. tied the game with an RBI single to right.
Dustin Harris put San Diego ahead to stay with a two-run single up the middle. After Manny Machado lined out, France jacked a hanging sweeper an estimated 388 feet to left for his 21st homer, a career high.
All that happened after Miami starter Tyler Phillips worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings, permitting only two hits and a walk while fanning three. He left with Miami holding a 1-0 edge after Agustin Ramirez lined a one-out homer to left in the third, his fifth.
The Marlins’ other run came in the eighth via a two-out RBI single by Javier Sanoja that scored Otto Lopez, who doubled to left with one out. Ramirez collected three of their 10 hits, while Sanoja and Lopez had two each.
San Diego tacked on two more runs in its half of the eighth. Jackson Merrill led off by ripping his 26th homer of the year an estimated 432 feet to right. Three more singles, the last by Taylor, brought in Bogaerts.
Harris, France, Bogaerts, Cronenworth and Taylor each bagged two of the Padres’ 12 hits.