San Diego Padres fans relieved as team hangs on to narrowly defeat Atlanta Braves: "I need a drink" "I am exhausted – but we got the W"

The San Diego Padres came out on the happy side of another one-run decision against the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. A day after succumbing to a late Braves' rally in a walk-off loss, this time the bullpen held the Padres' slim advantage for a 5-4 victory.

Nelson Cruz, the 42-year-old hitting machine, drove San Diego to the win by going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. The Padres never trailed in the MLB contest, taking a 3-0 lead into the third and holding up as the Braves twice tied the game in the third and fifth innings.

Xander Bogaerts drove home what would be the game-winning tally on an RBI single in the sixth that plated Trent Grisham.

From there, it was up to the bullpen trio of Brent Honeywell, Luis Garcia, and Josh Hader to keep the hosts at bay with 4-1/3 innings of scoreless relief of starting pitcher Nick Martinez. Honeywell earned the win, Garcia the hold, and Hader the save.

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin was highly complimentary of his relief corps, doting on Honeywell's efforts in squelching a Braves uprising in the fifth inning in a postgame interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune:

“There are big outs during the course of a game. Usually they come towards the end, but that last out in the fifth was huge.”

Bogaerts, like many wearing Padres' brown and gold, was relieved to get the victory, telling the Union-Tribune:

“It was really intense. Especially since it’s so close — we have the lead, they have the lead, we get the lead."

The early-season Padres/Braves matchup could be a precursor to a prospective National League playoff matchup, as both teams have strong World Series aspirations. The gravity of Friday's victory was not lost on Bogaerts as he spoke with the Union-Tribune:

"You have two games that are really, really close. And that’s what kind of gets adrenaline going, especially when you’re early in the season knowing that this is one of the best teams in National League."

Win evens San Diego Padres record at 4-4 on the season

Nick Martinez #21 of the San Diego Padres pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves

The victory not only evened the San Diego Padres' record at 4-4, but it also leveled the series with the Braves at a game apiece with two games still to be played this weekend. The two teams are back at it Saturday afternoon, with Michael Wacha scheduled to take the mound for the Padres and Charlie Morton expected to start for the Braves.