Arizona Puts Hold on San Diego’s Party

Thirty minutes after San Diego lost to Arizona, 3-1, Friday night, several Padres silently ate their postgame meal while watching the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants on a clubhouse television.

Others ignored the TV.

“If the Dodgers win, so what?” San Diego second baseman Todd Walker said. “We still have to win our games. I think that’s the attitude of the guys who aren’t watching. The guys who are probably just don’t have anything else to do.”

The Dodgers ended up winning, 4-3, to pull into a first-place tie in the NL West.

The night had already been tough for San Diego, which missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth when Arizona’s Livan Hernandez limited the Padres to two hits through the first six innings and Eric Byrnes homered in the Diamondbacks’ victory. San Diego would clinch no worse than the wild-card spot with one more victory or a loss by Philadelphia, which routed Florida, 14-2.

Hernandez (13-13) had his finest performance since the Diamondbacks acquired him from Washington on Aug. 7. He ended up giving up one run, four hits and walking three in seven innings.