Padres can’t clinch home field as desperate Diamondbacks keep hopes alive

SAN DIEGO – With thoughts of locking up home field for the NL Wild Card Series on their minds, the San Diego Padres instead felt firsthand the desperation of the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 11-4 loss on Friday night at Petco Park.

Casey Mize allowed three homers in his four innings for the Padres (89-71), who had early basepath traffic cut down by double plays in three of the first four innings. Six different players had RBI for Arizona (86-74), led by four from Geraldo Perdomo, as they kept their playoff hopes alive with their eighth road win in their past nine.

The capacity crowd at Petco Park gave the Padres a standing ovation as they took the field, the large video board in left field emblazoned with a graphic celebrating the club’s clinching of its fifth playoff spot in the last seven seasons.

But the wind was immediately taken out of the sails, as trade deadline acquisition Lars Nootbaar got into an elevated sinker from Mize, launching the first pitch to right center field for his eighth home run of the season. It marked the 11th game in a row the D-Backs have hit a long ball.

That wasn’t all, as Gabriel Moreno singled with one out and Perdomo followed up by roping a triple down the right field line that Dustin Harris couldn’t play cleanly off the base of the angled wall. It brought in the second run of the inning, then Corbin Carroll followed up with a RBI sacrifice fly, making it five games in a row where Arizona has scored in the opening inning — they put up multiple in all three of their wins at Colorado.

After the Padres came up empty despite getting consecutive singles in the home half of the first, Arizona added on in the second as Jordan Lawlar homered on an 0-1 count. His sixth depth charge of the season landed on the Petco Porch, just 334 feet from home.

But San Diego was able to get back a pair their next time up, as Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts opened up with consecutive singles. Luis Campusano netted an RBI on a ground-out to second, then Jake Cronenworth followed up by knocking in Bogaerts with an RBI single up the middle. A double-play lineout ended the inning.

But Mize walked Perdomo with one down, and then after a pop out he left slider center-cut for Nolan Arenado, who bashed it into the second level of the Western Metal Supply Co. building for a pair of RBI and his 30th homer of the year.

Arizona added another in the fourth as Nootbaar drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a ground-out. Moreno followed up by punching an RBI single through the right side to push the lead beyond grand slam range.

That would be Mize’s final inning, as he finished with four innings pitched and the seven runs allowed on seven hits — three which went for home runs, matching the most he’s allowed this season. He also walked two versus just a lone strikeout.

David Morgan took the fifth and worked around a walk, then Kyle Hart got the sixth. After getting the first two outs quickly, Hart walked three in a row and Perdomo made it hurt, hitting a bases-clearing double to center that Merrill was unable to field.

Arizona added another in the seventh against Jason Adam, who loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch before getting a double play ball and a fly-out. Cronenworth added an RBI in the seventh, hustling to beat out a potential double-play ball after singles by Sung-Mun Song and one stung off the left field wall by Campusano.

Wandy Peralta pitched the eighth, getting the D-backs in order thanks to Jase Bowen robbing Perdomo of a home run in straight-away center field. It happened again in the ninth, with Bowen ranging over to left-center and leaping to take a homer away from Tim Tawa.

The Padres were able to tack another run on in the eighth, as Harris walked with one out and then Ty France did with two gone, ending Pfaadt‘s night. Reliever Ryne Nelson allowed an RBI single to Song

Brandon Pfaadt earned his eighth win for Arizona, going 7 2/3 innings and allowing four runs on nine hits, with seven strikeouts and two walks. He won both of his games at Petco Park.

With the Chicago Cubs dropping both games of their double-header today at Boston, as well as the Philadelphia Phillies loss at home to Tampa Bay, the Padres remain just one win away from clinching home field for the NL Wild Card Series. They can also clinch if Chicago and Philadelphia each lose one more game.

Arizona is now just a game back of the final NL Wild Card.

The Padres have named Walker Buehler (9-6, 4.56 ERA) as their starter for the Saturday game against the Diamondbacks, while Arizona has not named a starter for the game. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. at Petco Park.