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The San Diego Padres may have won tonight, but it was Fernando Tatis Jr. who stole the show. The superstar outfielder has majorly turned things around after his historic home-run outage to begin the season. The right fielder hit his 14th homer to lead off the game before hitting his 15th to increase the Friars lead. If that weren’t enough, he robbed Francisco Lindor of a grand slam in the second inning. It would have won the New York Mets the game.
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Instead, it was Tatis who got the flowers in the Padres’ victory. Hopefully, that momentum will push them forward into a series win in this afternoon’s rubber match against New York. The Friars will need their offense to continue marching forward in order to stay in the playoff hunt.
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Taking the mound
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Robert Stock (NYM) v. Michael King (SD)
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Stock doesn’t have much to go off of in 2026. The former Padre has been working out of the Mets bullpen lately and hasn’t been particularly effective. The righty owns a 6.57 ERA through 12 1/3 innings pitched. The strikeout numbers are sold but he has been ineffective at limiting baserunners (1.86 WHIP).
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It’s likely that New York is planning to have a bullpen game, rather than have Stock as the primary starter. It’s possible that someone could pitch in bulk relief, with Stock as an opener. Though that won’t be made clear until after the game begins Wednesday afternoon.
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King has continued to be the guy that the Padres need him to be day in and day out. The 3.41 ERA isn’t exactly awe-inspiring, but King has done much more than prevent runs. He has served to stabilize a rotation that has so desperately needed it.
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That being said, there was a point in which King looked shaky. He’s regrouped since then, turning in a 3.15 ERA in his last seven games. The right-hander will seek to do the same against a Mets team that roughed him up the last time they faced off (4 ER, 6.0 IP).
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Batter up!
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If the stars look like this, there’s no stopping San Diego. Manny Machado went 3-for-4 with a walk in yesterday’s game while Tatis looked every bit the star that the Friar Faithful have grown to love. The right fielder went 2-for-5 with two homers. Not to mention his incredible robbery of Lindor’s grand slam.
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- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Jake Cronenworth, 2B
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Ty France, 1B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Luis Campusano, C
- Gavin Sheets, DH
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Jase Bowen, LF
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Bowen had a productive day at the plate after pinch-running for Luis Rengifo late in the game. The young outfielder went 1-for-1 and scored a run for the Friars. He could give Rengifo a break in the outfield after the recent addition to the Padres has been without rest for some time.
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Relief corps
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The bullpen was mostly solid in yesterday’s win over the Mets. After Robbie Ray went six solid innings, Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller locked it down. Rodriguez and Morejon struggled a bit, though the former could have been allowed to work through the trouble a little more than he was.
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Morejon pitched the second-longest outing of his 2026, throwing 38 pitches across 1 2/3 innings. He allowed a run, but got it back when Machado homered in the ninth inning. That set the stage for Miller to close it out with his 31st save of the year. That leaves Griffin Canning, Jeremiah Estrada, Kyle Hart, Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta available for tonight.
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