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Padres pull off huge upset of Dodgers in NLDS, advance to NLCS – USA TODAY

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SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres’ fans, with tears in their eyes and their voices quivering, stood in their seats Saturday night, took out their cell phones, and snapped pictures and video for posterity.

It happened.

It really happened.

The Padres, after 54 years of existence, finally slayed the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, their hated rivals 90 miles north on the I-5 Freeway.

The Padres, in one of the greatest moments in San Diego sports history, knocked off the Dodgers, 5-3, in front of a wild sellout crowd at Petco Park, advancing to the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Dodgers, who won 111 regular-season games, tied for the fourth-most in baseball history, are going home.

It will go down as one of the greatest upsets in baseball history with the Padres finishing 22 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings, only to rise up and win the only games that will be remembered.

It was the first time since 1906, when the Chicago White Sox won the World Series over the Cubs, that a team finished with 22 fewer victories than their opponent and won their postseason series.

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The Padres’ crowd, which wildly waved their brown and yellow towels and chanted “Beat LA!’’ all night, stood in disbelief when the final out was made, trying to fathom what transpired.

Music blared throughout the ballpark, with the stadium scoreboard lighting up, and the fans tried to cheer as loud as their lungs would allow.

It proved to be quite problematic.

You see, it’s a little tough to cheer when tears are streaming down your face, witnessing an event you never dreamed possible.

The Padres, for the first time since 1998, are going to the National League Championship Series.

They will play the Phillies, and have home-field advantage, too, playing Game 1 Tuesday night at Petco Park.

It may take the full 72 hours for the party to end, fans to sober up, and for everyone in San Diego to fully digest what happened.

“How the Mighty Have Fallen!’’ the scoreboard flashed with a fan showing off his sign, followed by the chant that reverberated throughout Southern California: “Beat LA!”

It was a crazy day from the start, with the game delayed 31 minutes by rain, with the Padres exploding for their biggest inning in postseason history with a five-run seventh, only for the skies to open again with rain pouring down.

Not a single fan left.

They weren’t about to miss this moment, with former Padres star Jake Peavy letting everyone know he was going to go party in the Gaslamp Quarter, and everyone was free to join him.

“I’m going to be partying until the wee hours,’’ Peavy said, “I’m going to stumble onto a Delta flight.

“I think it’s about time that we start talking about San Diego as a sport town. We’ve lost the Chargers. This is the only game in town. The Padre fans are absolutely showing out, from Del Mar on down. I’ve been everywhere since I’ve been here the last few days. It feels good. It feels electric.

“These people are ready.’’

While the Padres were partying, the Dodgers were in mourning, still trying to understand how their dream season turned into a living nightmare. They couldn’t buy a clutch hit, going 2-for-28 since Game 1 with runners in scoring position. They couldn’t come up with a key pitch, and had no clue how to attack the Padres’ vaunted bullpen.

“Baseball,’’ Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman said, “sometimes things happen.’’

It happened all right.

The Padres sellout crowd was there to witness it.

And will never forget it.

The Padres are going to the NLCS, the Dodgers are going home.

A rivalry was born.

Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale

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