LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres wrote their own Hollywood ending on the home field of their biggest rivals on Tuesday night.

San Diego surprised the Los Angeles Dodgers with a game ending triple play to secure a 4-2 victory over the NL West leader and secure a playoff spot for the Padres.

“We won! We won!” shouted Fernando Tatis Jr.

The party continued in the dark Padres clubhouse, with loud music and flashing lights as players doused each other with alcohol.

“You couldn’t have put it any better, man,” manager Mike Shildt said over the din. “What a play by Manny, a phenomenal play.”

With the Padres leading by three in the ninth inning, Kiké Hernández hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-2 and put runners on first and second.

Miguel Rojas hit a hard grounder to Machado at third, and he stepped on the bag before going around the horn for the triple play. The Dodgers challenged the out call at second base, but the decision was upheld after video review.

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani continued to watch from the stands.

“I’ve been wanting to do it for a couple of years,” said a shirtless Machado, wearing sunglasses as a fragrant mix of beer and champagne dripped from every pore. “He showed bunt on the first play. He thought he was going to bunt — he hit a ground ball right at me.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other teams to make a triple play on the same day they clinched a playoff spot were the 2020 Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs in 1910 and 1907.

San Diego was the first to end the game. It was the Padres’ first triple play since June 10, 2010, against the New York Mets.

After missing the postseason last year, the Padres earned the eighth playoff berth in franchise history and are guaranteed at least a National League wild card with five games remaining in the regular season.

“They’re a good frickin’ ballclub on the other side, so we’ve got to go out there and play better,” Machado said. “We did that tonight.”

Jake Cronenworth hit an early two-run home run, then he and Xander Bogaerts drove in runs in the fourth inning to give the Padres a 4-1 lead.

The Padres are chasing their first division title since 2006 and trail Los Angeles by two games with two games remaining in their series at Dodger Stadium. San Diego already leads the tiebreaker with an 8-3 record in head-to-head games this season.

“It’s a great, great start,” Shildt said. “You’ve got to get to the playoffs to win it all. It’s just about taking care of business from here.”

San Diego has the best record in the majors since the All-Star break: 41-17.

“We enjoy playing every day. It’s fun to come to the stadium every day,” Machado said. “Guys have taken a huge step forward. It’s taken a lot of effort for us as an organization to get to where we are.”

The Padres (91-66) have their most wins since the 1998 NL championship team finished the regular season at 98-64. They are looking to win their first World Series title in honor of owner Peter Seidler, who died last year at age 63.

“He’s been with us all year,” Machado said. “He’s shining on us now, smiling, enjoying this moment, enjoying this victory with us, enjoying this celebration.”

Seidler had strong ties to the Dodgers. He was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Brooklyn Dodgers until they moved to the West Coast in 1958, and the nephew of Peter O’Malley, who inherited the team along with Seidler’s mother, Terry.

“Peter started us years ago and here we are,” Machado said. “We do it for him.”

The Padres took the field to the empty stadium and chanted “Manny! Manny!” as they posed for photos.

San Diego was awarded a wild card in 2022 and eliminated the Mets and Dodgers in the playoffs before losing to Philadelphia in the NL Championship Series.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb