SAN DIEGO — On the day they essentially conceded a win was meaningless at this point, the Padres won.
They did to the Giants what the Giants (and others) had done to them so often, scoring four runs in the first inning. Then the Padres did what they had not done in more than a month, coming back in the latter part of a game to win.
In the end, it was a walk-off infield single by Victor Caratini in the 10th inning that gave the Padres a 7-6 victory in front of a slightly orange-leaning crowd of 31,049 on Thursday afternoon at Petco Park. (Box score.)
This development could not rightly be considered better late than never, given the Padres’ recent ineptness almost certainly cost them a playoff spot. But the victory did end a losing skid at five games and allow the Padres to be, if only officially, be counted among postseason contenders until at least Saturday.
The St. Louis Cardinals (83-69) won their 12th consecutive game earlier Thursday and remained six games ahead of the Padres (77-75) in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot with 10 games remaining.
But every day has brought fewer people in Padres uniforms talking about being alive, and on Thursday there was a figurative waving of the white flag in the form of third baseman Manny Machado sitting for the first time after 71 consecutive starts.
With the team’s second-best hitter watching, the Padres began in an unfamiliar fashion.
Adam Frazier led off the bottom of the first inning with a soft double grounded just inside first base. One-out walks drawn by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eric Hosmer loaded the bases before Giants starter Logan Webb grazed Jurickson Profar’s lower leg with a pitch to bring in a run. Trent Grisham’s fly ball to left field scored Tatis, and singles by Ha-seong Kim and Caratini made it 4-0.
It was the first time since Aug. 1 the Padres had scored more than two runs in the first inning of a game.
It had been done three times to them. Another three times, their opponent scored three runs in the first inning.
Webb threw 45 pitches in the inning but allowed only one hit over the next three innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth.
The Giants got two runs back on Mike Yastrzemski’s homer in the second inning. It was the 28th home run yielded by Yu Darvish, tying him for third most in the National League.
That was all Darvish allowed until the sixth, when he walked leadoff hitter Tommy La Stella and Brandon Belt followed with a single. After Darvish struck out Kris Bryant, left-hander Tim Hill was brought in with left-handed hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. due up. Austin Slater, who bats from the right side, pinch-hit for Wade and gave the Giants a 5-4 lead with a home run down the left field line.
Grisham’s first home run since Sept. 1 — a drought of 57 at-bats — tied the game 5-5 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Two pitches later, Kim’s first homer since Aug. 1— a dry spell lasting 41 at-bats — gave the Padres a 6-5 lead.
Pierce Johnson got the first two outs of the seventh inning before surrendering back-to-back doubles by Wilmer Flores and Tommy La Stella that tied the game.
The Padres had runners at first and second with one out in the seventh but failed to score, They went down in order in the ninth, with the second out coming when Machado struck out as a pinch-hitter.
Daniel Hudson worked a scoreless eighth and Mark Melancon a scoreless ninth to give the Padres a chance to win in the ninth.
Eric Hosmer’s two-out double in the ninth brought Jurickson Profar to the plate with a chance to end the game, but he lined out to center field.
Ross Detwiler did not allow a run in the 10th.
Profar began the bottom of the inning on second, the Giants intentionally walked Grisham, and Kim bunted both runners up 90 feet before Caratini sent a grounder up the middle that La Stella stopped with a dive to his right. But his throw home had no chance to get Profar.
It was the first time since Aug. 21 the Padres came back to win a game in which they trailed after the fifth inning and the first time since Sept. 5 they won a game in which they trailed at any point.
The Padres woke up on Aug. 11 a season-high 17 games above .500 and 4½ games up in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot. Now they are any combination of five losses or Cardinals wins from being eliminated.
The Cardinals play a doubleheader against the Cubs Friday while the Padres host the Braves for a regularly scheduled game that will be preceded by the teams concluding a game scheduled for seven innings that was suspended July 21 in Atlanta with the Padres up 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
