Machado’s grand slam lifts Padres over Mets 7-4.

Manny Machado crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth inning and the San Diego Padres held on for a 7-4 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday night in a clash of playoff hopefuls.

San Diego’s bullpen did the rest. Adrian Morejon (12-5) came on with two outs in the fifth and retired all four batters he faced. Mason Miller followed with 1 2/3 perfect innings, and All-Star closer Robert Suarez notched his NL-best 39th save. Suarez even finished it in style, stabbing Juan Soto’s line drive with two on in the ninth before calmly tossing to first for the final out.

Ramón Laureano added a solo homer and Jake Cronenworth chipped in an RBI single for the Padres, who remain two games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and hold the league’s second wild-card spot, five games ahead of the Mets. Fernando Tatis Jr. reached base four times and scored twice, while Machado finished with three hits.

For New York, Soto homered against his former club for his 41st of the season, matching his career high. Pete Alonso went deep for the third straight game, and Starling Marte and Francisco Alvarez also connected. Brett Baty had three hits. The Mets are still clinging to the final NL playoff spot, just 1 1/2 games clear of Arizona.

Key moment: Soto nearly swung the game back in New York’s favor in the seventh, sending a 102-mph fastball from Miller down the left-field line. The ball hooked foul by inches, and Miller responded by striking out Soto and Alonso back-to-back to end the rally.

Key stat: Machado’s slam — the 14th of his career — is the most among active players. It was his second of the season and the first ever surrendered by Mets starter David Peterson across 130 career games. San Diego also snapped a five-game skid at Citi Field.

Up next: The series wraps Thursday with Mets rookie Jonah Tong (1-2, 8.49 ERA) looking to rebound from a rough outing against Texas. The Padres counter with Randy Vásquez (5-6, 3.72), who struck out a career-high nine in six shutout innings his last time out.