\u2014 San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou load the bases on walks, that\u2019s just a recipe for the opposing team to be able to come back,\u201d Padres manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cAnd luckily we took advantage of it. It\u2019s not that easy to take advantage of it, but we did. And we made some good at-bats. Manny had a great at-bat, Hays\u2019 sac fly, Ty with the good at-bat and then we get the lucky bloop that kind of finishes the job.\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres offense is not firing right now. It has been in another one of its valleys for weeks.<\/p>\n But you can\u2019t take away what they did in the eighth to come from three runs down and win 5-4, no matter how much help they got.<\/p>\n The Padres have had 38 comeback victories, including 11 from three or more runs down, which is tied with the Astros for most in the major leagues. But last night was just their fifth victory (and first since May 13) in a game in which their opponent had a win probability of 94% or higher in the eighth inning or later.<\/p>\n Last night\u2019s game went from the kind of loss a team ends up regretting when it misses the playoffs by a slim margin to the kind of victory that is pointed to as crucial when a team squeaks into the postseason.<\/p>\n You can read in Jeff Sanders\u2019 game story (here<\/a>) about how it all went down and how Machado acknowledged the Padres knew the Diamondbacks had won and that the Padres \u201cneeded to win this game bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Morejon, valuable player<\/p>\n Mason Miller has lamented not being used more this season. He was pleased to take the ball for a second inning on Friday and then pitch twice more in the next three days.<\/p>\n But even he was startled by what happened yesterday.<\/p>\n Because Adrian Morej\u00f3n pitched on all those days as well.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me he was up today,\u201d Miller said. \u201cAnd I didn\u2019t believe him.\u201d<\/p>\n Morej\u00f3n was up.<\/p>\n He pitched last night for a fourth time in five days, setting down the Nationals in seven pitches in the ninth inning to earn the save.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of his more dominant innings that he\u2019s pitched all year,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cThese guys have stepped up all year. They\u2019ve taken the ball whenever I\u2019ve asked, and they\u2019ve done it whenever I haven\u2019t asked, and that\u2019s pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller has gone two innings twice this season and gotten at least four outs six other times. He is two appearances and 3\u2154 innings from tying his career highs.<\/p>\n Rookie Bradgley Rodriguez has gotten at least four outs 16 times and is second on the team with 61 appearances.<\/p>\n Rodriguez\u2019s 1.92 ERA ranks 12th in the major leagues among qualifying relievers.<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s numbers are ridiculous. His 1.17 ERA and 0.96 FIP are the best in the major leagues.<\/p>\n But the man who is widely considered the best relief pitcher in the major leagues did not hesitate at all when Morej\u00f3n\u2019s name was mentioned last night.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is the most valuable pitcher on our team, hands down,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve said that before, but I think it\u2019s pretty cut and dry at this point. Just his mentality, his availability, his efficiency too. \u2026 Constant availability, constant quality.\u201d<\/p>\n I wrote a story in spring training outlining why there was an argument to be made that Morej\u00f3n was the Padres\u2019 MVP in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n I have written a few times here over the past month or so that it seems like he has been even more valuable in \u201826. And that is despite his numbers not being as good.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s having an even better year this year,\u201d Miller said. \u201cNumbers for bullpen guys come and go.\u201d<\/p>\n Morej\u00f3n\u2019s expected ERA and FIP<\/a> are both lower than his actual ERA. And that number is greatly inflated by a run of five games in early April when he allowed eight earned runs in 4\u2154 innings.<\/p>\n He has a 1.93 ERA over his past 53 games (60\u2154 innings).<\/p>\n But the number that makes his other numbers most impressive is his career-high 79\u2154 innings pitched over 69 games. He is the only high-leverage pitcher in the game with 10 more innings than appearances. (The Brewers\u2019 Aaron Ashby comes close, having worked 80\u2153 innings in 69 games, but he doesn\u2019t take down the eighth inning and the top of the order nearly as often as Morej\u00f3n.)<\/p>\n Morej\u00f3n said last night there was no question he would be available.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m ready for whatever I\u2019m needed and whenever the team needs,\u201d he said through interpreter Pedro Guti\u00e9rrez. \u201cI knew I felt in a good spot, even though I pitched the last two games. It was pretty much a lot of mental preparation that went into this, so I knew that with the scenario that might come up, that I would pitch tonight. I prepared myself mentally. \u2026 It\u2019s a very important win, and really that\u2019s the main reason why I felt I needed a pitch today. It was just being able to pick up the win \u2014 however the situation (arose), just pick up the win.\u201d<\/p>\n For the record, this is what Stammen said: \u201c(Morej\u00f3n) and Mason, you could argue they\u2019re the MVPs of the team in the way that they\u2019ve taken the ball and pitched.\u201d<\/p>\n Manny moves up<\/p>\n Machado\u2019s single in the seventh inning was his 1,136th base hit with the Padres, moving him into sole possession of second place on the franchise\u2019s all-time list behind Tony Gwynn.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s pretty awesome, man,\u201d Machado said. \u201cI mean, I think just looking back at my time here, and to look up there and, in such a short period of time, be up there with some of the greats that have ever played this game, I think it\u2019s obviously an honor. It\u2019s an honor to put on the uniform every single day, and to be up there and look up there and be next to Tony for the rest of my career, I think it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n Machado, whose 1,109 games are fourth most in Padres history, is the Padres\u2019 all-time home run leader (220). And that is probably the only one of the major categories in which he will finish as the franchise leader, as Gwynn made everything else a race for second by playing 20 seasons and being one of the best hitters in history.<\/p>\n Rebound start<\/p>\n Casey Mize (sort of) acknowledged he needed a start like last night.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess some,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say that it was all hinging on this, you know. Because I just don\u2019t live in that world. Every game is super important to me, no matter if I\u2019m on a great run or not throwing the ball well. I kind of view them all in a certain lens of I need to go perform well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Padres needed him to do what he did.<\/p>\n Both because their bullpen required a rest and so that they could be assured he is not damaged goods.<\/p>\n Mize entered the game having allowed 15 runs (10 earned) in 11\u2154 innings over his past three starts, which it goes without saying is not what they paid for when they acquired him at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n He ended up being charged with three runs in 5\u2154 innings last night. But he was in some ways better than those numbers and struck out seven batters, his most in seven starts with the Padres.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was certainly a lot better,\u201d he said. \u201cFelt like I was moving pretty well, had some better locations on my stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Mize last night was far more precise, as he kept his pitches low and on the edges quite a bit more than recently.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the margins are so small at this level \u2014 of like getting the split below the zone or sticking the two-seamer on the white line versus it catching some plate or the slider being away but a little bit down instead of elevated or whatever it may be,\u201d Mize said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty small.\u201d<\/p>\n The first run Mize allowed came on a homer hit by Yohandy Morales on a sinker in and at least eight inches off the plate.<\/p>\n After allowing a double immediately following the homer, Mize retired 10 straight.<\/p>\n He yielded a one-out double and walked a batter with two outs in the sixth, and Stammen went to Randy V\u00e1squez, who gave up a two-run double.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt more like myself a little bit,\u201d Mize said. \u201cObviously, wasn\u2019t happy with three runs. But I feel like if I do what I did tonight over a longer period of time, it\u2019s going to yield some better results.\u201d<\/p>\n Strategy talk<\/p>\n Yes, Stammen was second-guessing himself for not allowing Mize to try to face right-handed hitter Brady House with two outs in the sixth inning.<\/p>\n As Mize was getting in trouble, Stammen had V\u00e1squez and left-hander Yuki Matsui warming.<\/p>\n Stammen decided to not use Matsui to face left-handed-hitting CJ Abrams, who walked. That is when Stammen went to V\u00e1squez, who surrendered the two-run double to House.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had to do it all over again, I probably would have done it a little bit differently,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cI probably would have left him in and had Yuki ready, or had Yuki ready for Abrams instead of Randy for House. But, you know, (if) Randy gets a 6-3 and they throw him out at first. I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, that was a great decision.\u2019 So we could have (gone) either way with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Stammen also alluded to a blister on Mize\u2019s finger that he did not want to risk aggravating. And he also thought it was important to acclimate V\u00e1squez to coming out of the bullpen in such situations after he has spent most of the past three seasons in the rotation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think having Randy in that situation, we\u2019re going to need to use him in situations like that, and he\u2019s got to get comfortable and get used to it,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cEventually, he\u2019s going to get a big out in a situation like that in the playoffs for us.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a lot<\/p>\n I missed this on Monday.<\/p>\n The Padres became the first team other than the Dodgers to pass 3 million in attendance this season.<\/p>\n It is the fourth consecutive season in which they have done so. By season\u2019s end, only the Padres, Dodgers, Yankees and Phillies will have eclipsed 3 million each year since 2023.<\/p>\n Last night was the 60th crowd over 40,000 in 74 games at Petco Park this season.<\/p>\n In 2022, there were 26 crowds that big. The pandemic limited capacity for much of 2021 and no fans were allowed in ballparks in 2020.<\/p>\n Over the nine seasons from 2011 to 2019, the Padres drew 40,000-plus a total of 65 times.<\/p>\n With just seven home games remaining, they will fall short of setting a franchise attendance record for a fourth consecutive season.<\/p>\n Tidbits<\/p>\n The Padres have won four of the five games on this homestand with all of the victories coming by one run. Before this stretch, they lost their previous six one-run games. They are now 23-22 in one-run games. All right, that\u2019s it for me. Early game today (1:10 p.m. PT).<\/p>\n Talk to you tomorrow.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/streakyO.png\")
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\nMachado is batting .452 (14-for-31) with a .538 on-base percentage during a nine-game on-base streak.
\nDavid Morgan got the win last night after entering the game with two outs and a runner on third base in the eighth inning, throwing one pitch and getting a groundout to third. It was about time he started to have things go his way. Morgan has a 4.62 ERA in 24 appearances (25\u2153 innings) this season, but his expected ERA<\/a> is 3.42. Opposing hitters have a .408 batting average on balls in play against him, which is second-highest among relief pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings.
\nLuis Rengifo has been at Petco Park this week, walking around with just a compression sleeve on his right leg. Rengifo, who tore his ACL and MCL on Aug. 29, is waiting for the swelling in his leg to go down. He plans to consult with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles before deciding on the surgical route he wants to take.
\nThe Padres were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position before going 2-for-4 in the eighth inning. They have an MLB-worst .176 batting average with runners in scoring position over the past 14 games.<\/p>\n