SAN DIEGO — The euphoria of clinching their first playoff berth in 14 seasons three days earlier was tempered for the San Diego Padres when right-hander Mike Clevinger was suddenly pulled after only one inning of his start Wednesday.

Clevinger was sent for an MRI on his right biceps while the Padres were losing 5-2 to the Los Angeles Angels. If the Padres get bad news, it will be a big setback at the front end of their playoff rotation.

Even some of his teammates were confused after Clevinger didn’t come out for the second inning.

“It would be a big blow if we lost Clev,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said. “I think a lot of us position players were kind of asking the same thing, whether or not he had been scheduled to throw that amount or what was going on. We’re hoping for the best news.”

Clevinger’s start had been pushed back from Saturday night because of tightness in his right biceps. Manager Jayce Tingler said Tuesday that Clevinger threw a bullpen session Monday and seemed good to go for Wednesday afternoon’s start.

Clevinger, obtained in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland on Aug. 31, breezed through a perfect first inning on 12 pitches, including striking out Mike Trout and David Fletcher.

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But rookie Adrian Morejon began warming up in the bullpen while the Padres batted in the bottom of the inning and came out to start the second. Morejon (2-2) allowed a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani and solo shots to Justin Upton and Anthony Bemboom that gave the Angels a 4-2 lead.

PHILLIES 12, NATIONALS 3: Given a chance to DH so he could ease the burden on his bothersome back, Bryce Harper homered twice against his former team, helping visiting Philadelphia push the 2019 World Series champions to the brink of elimination from the playoff race.

A victory by Milwaukee, San Francisco or St. Louis later Wednesday would rule out a postseason return for the Nationals.

The Phillies are 28-29 and third in the NL East but still in the chase for a playoff berth.

BRAVES 9, MARLINS 4: Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer for host Atlanta, which lost ace pitcher Max Fried to an ankle injury.

Fried was hoping to boost his NL Cy Young Award credentials ahead of starting Game 1 in the NL playoffs next week. But he lasted only one inning, tweaking an ankle while fielding a bunt down the third-base line by Starling Marte.

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RAYS 8, METS 5: Randy Arozarena homered twice and Tampa Bay clinched its first AL East title in 10 years with a victory at New York.

BLUE JAYS 14, YANKEES 1: Danny Jansen homered twice, and Toronto moved closer to clinching a playoff berth with a win over visiting New York.

MARINERS 3, ASTROS 2: Nick Margevicius tossed six shutout innings, Ty France drove in a pair of runs and Seattle kept its slim postseason hopes alive with a win at home.

TWINS 7, TIGERS 6: Jake Cave hit a pair of home runs, Kenta Maeda finished off his regular season with another strong start and host Minnesota took over sole possession of the AL Central lead for the first time since late August.

INDIANS 3, WHITE SOX 2: Shane Bieber lowered his ERA to 1.63, and Jordan Luplow hit a game-ending home run that dropped visiting Chicago into second place in the AL Central.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, RANGERS 3: Rookie Wyatt Mathisen hit his first two career homers, fellow rookie Daulton Varsho knocked in the go-ahead run with a triple, and Arizona beat visiting Texas.

REDS 6, BREWERS 1: Joey Votto homered for his first hit all season against Milwaukee, Trevor Bauer dominated on short rest, and Cincinnati won a pivotal series for playoff contention against the visiting Brewers.

ROYALS 12, CARDINALS 3: Salvador Perez and Franchy Cordero each hit two homers and drove in five runs apiece, and Kansas City won at home.

PIRATES 2, CUBS 1: Adam Frazier and Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back homers off Kyle Hendricks, and Pittsburgh won at home.


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