Padres level series with Cards thanks to late homer spree

[October 02, 2020]  Fernando Tatis and Wil Myers hit two homers apiece and Manny Machado added a game-tying homer Thursday night as the host San Diego Padres overcame a four-run St. Louis Cardinals lead to win 11-9 and force a winner-take-all third game Friday in their National League wild-card series.

San Diego scored a total of nine runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

Tatis (five RBIs) and Myers (four RBIs) became the first pair of teammates to hit two home runs apiece in a postseason game since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the 1932 World Series. The Padres also became the first team in postseason history to hit five homers from the sixth inning on.

San Diego, which led the major leagues with 22 come-from behind wins in the regular season, pulled off another turnaround.

The Padres were down 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth before Tatis and Machado hit back-to-back home runs for the fourth time this season to tie the game.

Austin Nola and Jake Cronenworth drew back-to-back walks to open the inning off Genesis Cabrera, who departed after striking out Trent Grisham. Tatis, who had stranded five runners earlier in the game, then drove a three-run homer into the left field seats to cut the lead to deficit. Machado then tied the game by going deep on a 3-2 count.

Myers' first homer, leading off the seventh against Daniel Ponce de Leon, gave the Padres a 7-6 lead. Nola then again drew a walk ahead of Tatis' opposite-field homer to right that made it 9-6.

The Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the eighth on sacrifice flies by Harrison Bader and Kolten Wong, who had a homer and four RBIs, to cut the Padres' lead to 9-8.

Cardinals designated hitter Matt Carpenter (13) scores on a single by center fielder Harrison Bader (not pictured) during the second inning as San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola (center) looks on at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

But Myers followed a two-out single by Jurickson Profar in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer to make it 11-8.

Paul Goldschmidt homered leading off the top of the ninth against former Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal, who was credited with the save. Emilio Pagan (1-0) got credit for the win after throwing one scoreless inning.

Ponce de Leon (0-1) took the loss was charged with three runs in one inning.

Wong hit a two-run homer in the second inning off Padres starter Zach Davies as St. Louis took a 4-0 lead for the second straight day.

Davis yielded four runs in two innings while Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright allowed two runs in 3 1/3 innings. St. Louis used eight pitchers and San Diego used nine.

--Field Level Media

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