For the second time this season, the San Diego Padres needed to win the third game of a series to avoid a sweep. The Padres did just that with a 7-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park on Wednesday. Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta bounced back with a critical performance that resulted in five innings of one-hit baseball.
San Diego struggled on offense throughout the series, but the lineup showed signs of life in the third game of the series against San Francisco. The Padres have been
lacking in slug throughout the first five games of the season and have ranked near the bottom of the league in almost every offensive category. San Diego had 10 hits in the win over San Francisco and five of those were for extra bases (four doubles and one home run). It was a welcome sight for many of the Friar Faithful and probably for manager Craig Stammen and his team.
The Padres entered the bottom of the eighth inning with a 3-1 lead and Mason Miller had just gotten the final out in the top of the eighth, looking for a four out save. The San Diego offense took all the drama out of the end of the game with a four-run inning that gave the Padres a 7-1 lead heading to the ninth.
Manny Machado started the bottom of the eighth inning with a leadoff double. Ramon Laureano, who had a rest day on Tuesday, homered to make the score, 5-1. Jake Cronenworth and Gavin Sheets walked before Freddy Fermin struck out for the first out of the inning. Bryce Johnson walked to load the bases for Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres leadoff man hit an infield single that could not be handled by Giants pitcher Jose Butto or third baseman Matt Chapman, which allowed a run to score to give San Diego a 6-1 lead. Xander Bogaerts followed with a bases loaded walk to force home a run and push the score to the final of 7-1. The inning ended when Jackson Merrill tapped a ball into fair territory that was fielded by catcher Daniel Susac who touched home and threw to first to end the scoring threat.
Miller came out for the top of the ninth and allowed a single to Luis Arraez before striking out the next three batters to end the game and secure the save. The Padres are off Thursday and will travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox for their Opening Day at Fenway Park on Friday at 11:10 a.m.
Padres News:
- The San Diego minor league system is coming to life for the 2026 season with the El Paso Chihuahuas, San Antonio Missions, Fort Wayne TinCaps and Lake Elsinore Storm all in action this week.
- Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball took a look at what went wrong for San Diego in the loss to San Francisco in the second game of the series. He focused on the diminished defense in left field as a result of Nick Castellanos getting the start over Ramon Laureano, who was given the day off.
- The Padres have gotten off to a 2-4 start to the season, but it isn’t for lack of support from the Friar Faithful. San Diego played six games at Petco Park to start the season and each one was a sellout.
- JP Sears made a start for San Diego Triple-A affiliate El Paso and he delivered a solid outing that lasted five innings. Sung-Mun Song continues his rehab assignment with El Paso and went 1-for-5 with an RBI.
Baseball News:
- Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Bassalo challenged a third strike with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, and the ABS System overturned the called ball by the umpire resulting in strike three and the end of the game in a Baltimore win over the Texas Rangers. It’s the first time a game has ended with an ABS challenge.
- Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara needed less than 100 pitches to throw a complete game to lead the Marlis to a win over the Chicago White Sox.
- Zac Gallen and Tarik Skubal went head-to-head when the Arizona Diamondbacks took on the Detroit Tigers, and it was the Arizona right-hander who led his team to a win.
- Cleveland Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams struck out 10 and helped his team beat the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. Matthew Boyd also recorded 10 strikeouts to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Los Angeles Angels.
- Rookie Justin Crawford capped a Philadelphia Phillies comeback over the Washington Nationals with a walk-off single.
