Dylan Gardner

Gleyber Torres and Zach McKinstry each collected three hits as the Detroit Tigers held off the San Diego Padres 6–4 on Monday night, picking up their fourth win in five games and continuing their dominance in series openers. DETROIT — Gleyber Torres and Zach McKinstry each collected three hits as the Detroit Tigers held off the San Diego Padres 6–4 on Monday night, picking up their fourth win in five games and continuing their dominance in series openers. Detroit has now won seven straight series openers since dropping Opening Day on the road against the Dodgers. With the victory, the Tigers improved to 9–2 at Comerica Park—their best home start since 1984. Right-hander Brenan Hanifee (1–0) earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out two. Keider Montero, making his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo, battled through 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks. Will Vest closed things out in the ninth with a perfect inning, striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. for his second save. San Diego starter Randy Vásquez (1–2) struggled early, surrendering six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks in just two innings—the shortest outing of his five starts this season. Padres rookie Tirso Ornelas, making his first career start after debuting Saturday, gave San Diego a brief 1–0 lead with a run-scoring force-out in the first. Detroit answered quickly in the bottom half when McKinstry tripled in a run and then scored on Colt Keith’s infield single that took a tricky hop past shortstop José Iglesias. Tatis tied the game in the second with an RBI groundout, but the Tigers regained the lead with two in the second and two more in the third. Tomás Nido drove in a run with a single and later scored on Riley Greene’s two-out RBI knock. Torres, who raised his average to .304, delivered a two-run single in the third to make it 6–2. Gavin Sheets trimmed the deficit with a solo homer in the fifth, but the Padres couldn’t rally further. Key Moment: The Padres had a situation with a tying run batting twice in top 7th inning after Gavin Sheets' single with one out on the board. Manny Machado hit into a fielder's choice with Sheets out at second base. Xander Bogaerts struck out to end their last pulse of momentum. Key Stat: The Tigers are 9–2 at home to open the season—their best home start since their World Series championship year in 1984. View full article

Fernando Tatis Jr. carried the San Diego Padres on Sunday night, scoring all three of the team’s runs—including a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh—as San Diego edged the Houston Astros 3–2 to avoid a sweep at Daikin Park. HOUSTON — Fernando Tatis Jr. carried the San Diego Padres on Sunday night, scoring all three of the team’s runs—including a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh—as San Diego edged the Houston Astros 3–2 to avoid a sweep at Daikin Park. Tatis broke a 2–2 tie with a towering 427-foot home run to straightaway center on the first pitch he saw from Tayler Scott (1–2) in the top of the seventh. It was his eighth long ball of the season. The Padres’ star outfielder scored in all three of his trips across the plate. He reached on an error by Mauricio Dubón in the first and came around to score, then opened the third with a triple and crossed home on Gavin Sheets’ RBI single. The Astros rallied to tie the game in the fifth, with Dubón redeeming himself by driving in a run on a single. Yordan Alvarez followed with a sacrifice fly to knot the score at 2–2. San Diego starter Dylan Cease worked five innings, allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Alek Jacob (1–0) earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Robert Suarez slammed the door in the ninth for his second save. Houston's Framber Valdez was sharp but took a no-decision, giving up two runs on seven hits over six innings. The game was overshadowed by a frightening scene in the first inning, when Padres designated hitter Luis Arraez collided face-first with Dubón during a close play at first base. Arraez remained motionless in foul territory for several minutes before being carted off the field on a backboard and taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Trainers from both teams attended to him as silence fell over the stadium. Key Moment: With the tying run on second in the eighth, Padres reliever Jason Adam struck out Victor Caratini to end Houston’s final serious threat. Key Stat: Fernando Tatis Jr. scored all three of San Diego’s runs—via an error, a triple, and a home run—showcasing his all-around impact. Fun Fact: The San Diego Padres' bullpen has gone 12 consecutive games without giving up more than one run. This proved valuable in keeping the game within reach for the Padres to win key close games, despite injuries to their key players, such as Luis Arraez and Jackson Merrill. View full article

Isaac Paredes blooped a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 3–2 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park. HOUSTON — Isaac Paredes blooped a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, lifting the Houston Astros to a 3–2 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night at Daikin Park. With two outs and a runner on second, Paredes dropped a soft single into short center field off Jeremiah Estrada (0–1), who had previously allowed just two hits in 10 1/3 innings this season. The clutch hit broke a 2–2 tie and gave Houston the edge in a tightly contested game. The Padres had tied things up just an inning earlier, when Christian Walker launched a two-run homer off Michael King in the sixth. Walker, moved out of the cleanup spot for the first time this season due to early struggles at the plate, connected on a 1-0 sweeper for his second homer of the year. Tayler Scott (1–1) tossed two solid innings in relief to earn the win for Houston. Bryan Abreu handled the eighth, and Josh Hader worked a scoreless ninth—securing the save on his bobblehead giveaway night by retiring former teammate Yuli Gurriel on a flyout to end the game. Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the scoring for San Diego with a solo shot in the third, his seventh home run of the year. Manny Machado added to the Padres' lead with an RBI double in the fifth following a single and stolen base by Tatis. Despite the loss, the night included a milestone moment for outfielder Tirso Ornelas. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut after being called up from Triple-A El Paso, where he was hitting .281. His journey to Houston included two canceled flights, but he arrived in time to pinch-hit in the seventh and flied out in his first big league appearance. The loss marked the second time this season the Padres have dropped back-to-back games. Key Moment: Paredes’ two-out RBI single in the seventh inning proved to be the difference-maker. Fun Fact: Houston Astros' lineup registered hard hits from almost all nine batters (8/9) compared to San Diego Padres' lineup (6/12), including pitch hitters. View full article

Rookie Cam Smith made a statement in his first two at-bats, launching a pair of home runs and driving in a career-high four runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 6–4 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. HOUSTON — Rookie Cam Smith made a statement in his first two at-bats, launching a pair of home runs and driving in a career-high four runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 6–4 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. Smith ignited the offense with a three-run homer in the second inning off Padres starter Kyle Hart (2–1), giving Houston a 3–1 lead. He followed that up with a solo shot in the fourth, again off Hart, to extend the Astros' lead to 5–2. It was the first multi-homer game of Smith’s young career. Yainer Diaz chipped in with an RBI single in the third, and Jake Meyers delivered a key insurance run in the eighth with an RBI single—part of his three-hit night that matched a season high. Padres second baseman Luis Arraez tried to rally his club with a two-run homer in the seventh, sending a high fastball from Bryan King just over the right-field fence to make it 5–4. Arraez finished with three hits. Astros right-hander Ryan Gusto (2–1) allowed nine hits but limited the damage to two runs over five innings. Josh Hader closed the door with a perfect ninth to record his fifth save of the season. Kyle Hart took his first loss after giving up 10 hits and five earned runs across five innings. He had entered the night unbeaten in his first three starts. Oscar Gonzalez contributed an RBI single for San Diego in the fourth, but the Padres couldn’t convert enough opportunities—going just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Key Moment: Smith’s three-run homer in the second turned a one-run deficit into an early Houston lead the Padres never overcame. Fun Fact: Cam Smith's second home run in 4th inning was a bad break for the Padres, due to xBA of .200 and only went 360 feet. Due to the dimensions of Daikin Field (Houston Astros), it is the only park that this "fly out" turned into a home run. View full article

After a gutwrenching loss on Tuesday, the Padres returned to their winning ways, ensuring yet another series win and a happy flight to Houston. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado each delivered two RBIs, and Nick Pivetta turned in six strong innings as the San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 4–2 on Wednesday. The win in the rubber match allowed the Padres to avoid losing their second series of the season, not to mention their second to the Cubs. With the win, the Padres improved to a major league-best 15-4 record, including a dominant 12-1 record at home. Their only blemish at Petco Park was Tuesday night’s 10-inning loss to the Cubs. The Cubs lead the Central with a 12-9 record and took two of three from the Padres earlier this month at Wrigley Field. San Diego jumped ahead early as Tatis and Machado each drove in a run with RBI singles off Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd in the third inning. Machado added an RBI double in the seventh off Daniel Palencia, and Tatis capped his night by drawing a bases-loaded walk against Luke Little in the eighth. The game marked a rematch of an April 5 showdown in Chicago, where Boyd outdueled Pivetta in a 7-1 Cubs victory. This time, Pivetta (3-1) flipped the script, allowing just one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked one in one of his sharpest outings of the young season. Boyd (1-2) was charged with two runs on six hits across 5 1/3 innings. Robert Suarez continued his dominance out of the bullpen, locking down his league-leading eighth save with a perfect ninth. The Cubs had a prime chance in the third after loading the bases with no outs, but managed only one run. Kyle Tucker lifted a sacrifice fly before Seiya Suzuki bounced into an inning-ending double play. Pete Crow-Armstrong gave Chicago a jolt with a leadoff homer in the eighth off Wandy Peralta — his third of the year — but the Padres’ bullpen held firm the rest of the way. Key Moment: Both of Machado’s RBI hits came with two outs, helping San Diego extend innings and apply pressure. Fun Fact: Oscar Gonzalez's unfortunate fly out against Matthew Boyd in the sixth inning traveled 387 feet and had an expected batting average of .690. Although it came up short, it was the longest shot of the game. It would have not been a home run in 29 out of 30 parks. The one park where it would have been out: Wrigley Field. After a day off on Thursday, the Padres will kick off a road trip with three games in Houston on Friday. View full article