The Padres keep finding ways to survive the kind of games that can slip away in a hurry. On this night, they built enough cushion early, then spent the rest of the game hanging on for a 5-4 win over the Giants without closer Mason Miller.
San Diego did its damage in the second inning against Giants starter Landen Roupp, and Jackson Merrill delivered the biggest swing of the frame. His two-run homer opened the scoring and put the Padres in front 2-0. Jake Cronenworth kept the pressure on with a two-run single, pushing the lead to 4-0 and giving San Diego an early edge that would prove vital.
Kyle Hart got the start and worked three shutout innings before JP Sears took over in relief. The Giants finally cracked through in the fourth, starting with a Willy Adames RBI single. Drsounew Cavanaugh then grounded out to bring Rafael Devers home, trimming the deficit to 4-2.
San Diego answered in the fifth after Osleivis Basabe launched his second homer in two games, this one off Griffin Canning. The Padres immediately got that run back when Luis Campusano singled in another score to make it 5-3.
Jeremiah Estrada handled a scoreless seventh after Canning exited, and Bradgley Rodriguez took the eighth. That’s when Devers struck again, this time with a solo homer that pulled the Giants within one. The inning nearly turned into a mess for San Diego after a Jung Hoo Lee double and a throwing sequence left him at third.
Adrian Morejon stepped in and got Adames to strike out to preserve the lead. He stayed on for the ninth because Mason Miller was unavailable after a long outing the night before. Morejon struck out the first two batters, hit Basabe with a pitch, and then finished it off when Luis Arraez lifted a flyball to Merrill in left-center.
The victory gave the Padres a needed series win and capped a homestand in which they took five of six. They’ve now won eight of nine as they stay in the wild-card race, with a pitching staff that continues to hold together by a thread.
Next up is a big one. The Padres head to Arizona for a four-game series against the Diamondbacks, who are now a game ahead of them in both the NL West standings and the wild-card race.
In Other News...
Padres Deadline Rumors Hint At One Real Need And One Huge Swing
The Padres deadline search is already starting to look like a two-track operation, with A.J. Preller reportedly weighing both a rotation upgrade and a much bigger offensive swing. Joel Shermans reporting linked San Diego to Mets right-hander Kodai Senga, a name that makes sense if the club decides the pitching market is where it can do the most practical business, especially with New York in a sellers position.
There is also a far more ambitious idea in the mix, one that would take a lot more maneuvering to pull off. Sherman reported Preller has at least considered Rafael Devers as a target, but the combination of Devers contract and the awkwardness of dealing with a division rival makes that path look far less straightforward than the pitching pursuit, which is why the deadline could end up revealing whether the Padres want a fix or a headline. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Bullpen Plans
With the playoff chase tightening and injuries forcing the rotation to lean on the relief corps, the Padres are making it clear they are not looking to weaken the bullpen for help elsewhere. Adrian Morejon has become an important part of that group, and San Diegos decision to hold onto him says plenty about how it views its late-season formula.
The Yankees reportedly had interest in prying Morejon away in a deal for Will Warren, a controllable starter, but the Padres passed. For a club trying to stay in position for October, that kind of move would have tested whether immediate bullpen stability matters more than longer-term rotation depth, and San Diego has chosen the former for now. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Face A Trade Deadline Call On One Bullpen Arm
The Padres already had one of the busier buzz cycles around the bullpen market, and Adrian Morejon has become a name worth watching as the trade deadline approaches. San Diego and the Yankees reportedly explored a deal that would have brought right-hander Will Warren to the Padres, a reflection of how clubs are weighing pitching depth against bigger roster needs as the deadline clock keeps ticking.
Nothing has been finalized, and the two sides are still free to keep talking before the deadline. Even so, the fact that Morejon is at the center of the discussion adds a layer of intrigue for San Diego, where every bullpen decision feels tied to the bigger question of how aggressive the front office wants to be in reshaping the roster for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]