Padres Close Trip on Winning Note, Avoiding Sweep by Phillies with 5-2 Victory

The Padres broke a five-game skid Wednesday, avoiding a second sweep this season at the hands of the Phillies with a 5-2 win.

The Friars salvaged the final game of the road trip thanks to the men on the mound and behind the plate.

Matt Waldron, after a rocky first, went seven innings, giving up just one run, keeping pace with Philadelphia starter Ranger Suárez, who carried a 10-1 record into the game.

“I feel like I found a rhythm towards the third and the fourth that I held on to,” Waldron told MLB.com.

Catcher Kyle Higashioka, meanwhile, picked a great time for his first career triple – with the bases loaded in the eighth and Padres up 2-1 against the team with the best record in the National League.

The Friars loaded the bases after a single by Jurickson Profar – José Azocar ran for him – and a little luck. First, Manny Machado saw his out become a single after the initial call was overturned, and after a strikeout by Donovan Solano, Ha-Seong Kim reached base on an error.

Following a pitching change, Jackson Merrill, who’d homered earlier, popped out, but then up came Higashioka, who on an 0-1 count saw his shot slip past a sliding Brandon Marsh in center. Though right fielder Nick Castellanos caught up to the ball, the damage was done. The triple cleared the bases for a 5-2 lead.

The Phillies scored in the bottom of the frame, but Robert Suarez held them off in the ninth to secure the victory for Waldron and log his 18th save, fourth best in the NL.

The Padres got a couple monkeys off their backs thanks to the win. They avoided dropping all their 2024 matchups with the Phillies, who swept them at Petco Park in April. They also ended a streak of nine road losses –including the sweep by the Mets that began the current road trip – stretching back to June 2.

There’s no rest for the club, as they return home Thursday, welcoming the Brewers, leaders in the NL Central, for four games. Adam Mazur, Dylan Cease, Randy Vásquez and Michael King are set to take the mound.