As a rare October rainstorm drenched Petco Park in the eighth inning, nobody at the packed downtown home of the San Diego Padres flinched.
Fans pulled over hoodies, put on ponchos and covered their heads with whatever they could to try to stay dry, including yellow rally towels and pizza boxes.
An inning later, with his long hair flowing out from under his hat, All-Star closer Josh Hader struck out Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman in succession to spark one of the biggest parties downtown San Diego has ever seen. Two members of the 1998 Padres team, Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman and Steve Finley, watched from a luxury suite Saturday night and gleefully bumped fists afterAs much as Saturday night was about rewarding the long-suffering fans who have never celebrated a World Series championship, it was also about a Padres team that played in the exhaust fumes of the mighty Dodgers almost all season before finding their identity at the right time.
Machado, the $300 million All-Star third baseman and unquestioned team leader, carried the Padres all year in the absence of electrifying shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis was on the cusp of returning from wrist surgery when he was suspended 80 games by MLB after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
“I knew what we had coming over here,” said Hader, who was soaked with beer as midnight approached on Saturday. “I knew this team was stacked. This team was full of studs. It’s just taken the time to get hot at the right time and that’s what we’re doing. We’re not done yet. We’ve got a lot to do, but to be able to roll into this, beat LA, it’s huge.”
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