San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado. Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Padres' playoff-clinching triple play shows they're the team of destiny

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated Sep 25, 2024 9:08 AM ET

The San Diego Padres may be the team of destiny for the 2024 season.

The Friars not only clinched a playoff berth with their 4-2 road win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night but did so in jaw-dropping, historic fashion.

With runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the ninth, Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas represented the winning run at the plate. Even if Rojas couldn't get the job done, the hometown fans had to feel good, seeing likely NL MVP Shohei Ohtani looming in the on-deck circle.

Instead, Ohtani never got a chance to bat as Rojas grounded into a 5-4-3 triple play.

GAME-ENDING TRIPLE PLAY TO CLINCH POSTSEASON BERTH pic.twitter.com/w2VmNQKWHw
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2024

A triple play is one of the rarer feats in baseball but not as uncommon as a no-hitter, back-to-back-to-back home runs or a team coming back from eight or more runs behind in a contest.

As noted by OptaSTATS, San Diego has done all four this season.

In MLB history, there have been:

over 700 triple plays turned
over 300 no-hitters thrown
over 300 sets of back-to-back-to-back HR
over 100 comeback wins from 8+ runs down

Only one team has done all 4 in the same season.

That team is the 2024 @Padres. pic.twitter.com/4LwVL3M2rb
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 25, 2024

On April 8, in their 13th game of the campaign, the Padres fell into an 8-0 hole after four innings against the Chicago Cubs at home. San Diego scored seven times in the bottom of the sixth and two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to complete a 9-8, come-from-behind victory.

Then, on July 25, right-hander Dylan Cease made history with a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals as a part of a 3-0 road win.

Most recently, the Padres hit three consecutive home runs in the eighth inning of last week's 4-0 defeat of the Houston Astros. When Donovan Solano, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado went yard, it was the first time that the team hit three straight homers since April 1, 1997, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.

The Padres still have five more regular-season games left to add to their extensive list of unusual accomplishments this season, but right now, they're looking like a team of destiny.

Victor Barbosa

Victor Barbosa is a passionate follower of MLB, the NBA and NFL, with a deep interest in Boston-area teams. He graduated from Springfield College -- The Birthplace of Basketball -- in 2013 with a degree in Communications-Sports Journalism. Previous bylines include FanSided, Heavy and Syracuse

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