Higashioka's homer starts rally as Padres beat Braves 5-4 to sweep NL Wild Card Series

 Kyle Higashioka's solo home run started a five-run rally against Max Fried with two outs in the second inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to sweep the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 win in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.

Manny Machado added a two-run double with the bases loaded and Jackson Merrill, a top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, followed with a two-run triple as the sellout crowd of 47,705 — the largest in Petco Park history — roared.

The Padres, who would love to win a World Series title in memory of late owner Peter Seidler, head up Interstate 5 to face Shohei Ohtani and the NL West rival and top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a National League Division Series starting Saturday night. San Diego eliminated the 111-win Dodgers in a 2022 NLDS.

Fried and Padres starter Joe Musgrove exited early with apparent injuries. Fried left after the second inning. He was hit on the left hip by a ball off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. two batters into his outing. Musgrove left with two outs in the fourth after throwing two slow curveballs to Matt Olson.

After the Padres took a 5-1 lead in the second, Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the fifth and Michael Harris II had a two-run shot in the eighth.