The San Diego Padres pulled off a game-winning triple play, clinched a playoff spot and kept their hopes of winning the NL West title alive after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.

This incredible victory, the Padres’ fifth in a row, moved San Diego within two games of the division-leading Dodgers with five games left in the regular season.

The ninth inning turned into a slump for San Diego after closer Robert Suarez allowed a run on three consecutive singles by Will Smith, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández. Leading 4-2, the Padres had runners on first and second base, no outs, Miguel Rojas at bat and Shohei Ohtani on the turn.

Then the following happened:

Rojas’ grounder straight to third baseman Manny Machado triggered the triple play, which was confirmed on replay. Had it not been confirmed, Shohei Ohtani would have been next to bat. He could have had a heroic moment to win the game for the Dodgers and deny the Padres their big moment of celebration, but Rojas’ grounder and the Padres infield made sure Ohtani didn’t get that chance.

As you might suspect, this game-winning triple play that decided the postseason made MLB history. It is just the third game-deciding triple play in the wildcard era (New York Yankees on 6/20/21, Philadelphia Phillies on 8/23/09). And as for the playoffs, only three other teams have pulled off a triple play on the same day they clinched a postseason spot: the Milwaukee Brewers on 9/27/20, the Chicago Cubs on 10/2/1910, and the Cubs again on 9/23/1907. The Padres are the fourth team.

But this Padres performance is unique in one respect: They are now the only team in MLB history to end a crucial postseason game with a triple play.