SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jorge Alfaro is used to being in position to walk off games. Just not with a walk-off walk.
Alfaro drew a bases-loaded free pass from Craig Kimbrel with two outs in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres beat the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Tuesday night to reduce their magic number for clinching a wild-card berth to four.
The Padres started the winning rally against Kimbrel (6-7) when Kim Ha-seong sacrificed automatic runner José Azocar to third. Juan Soto was intentionally walked, Manny Machado struck out and Brandon Drury walked to load the bases. Alfaro worked the count full before walking to bring in Azocar.
Alfaro tossed his bat aside and gestured in surprise to the Padres’ dugout as he trotted to first base.
“I threw my bat. It happens. I don’t really try to do too much,” Alfaro said. “I don’t know how to describe the feeling. It was funny because I don’t walk that much. I couldn’t believe it. I walked to finish a game.”
It was Alfaro’s eighth career walk-off plate appearance and fifth this year. It was the 12th walk-off win for the Padres, who are 12-4 in extra innings.
Alfaro said the key in those plate appearances is “just try to relax, breathe. If you try to do too much, you’re going to overswing. That’s all I tried to do.”
Kimbrel “didn’t give me anything in the zone to put in play,” Alfaro said. “My plan was to get something close and try shoot it the other way, or up the middle. Pretty much that’s it. It helped me to get ready early and recognize the pitch.”
Padres manager Bob Melvin said the only surprise “is him literally walking to walk it off. It’s not really one of his things that he tends to do and we’ve seen him get a few hits to do it. But man, after getting down 0-1 like that, having to try to be patient,…