Machado Walks It Off in 10th as Padres Survive 7-6
A four-run second inning that flipped a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead — capped by a throwing error from Atlanta's own shortstop — set the tone for one of the wilder games of the week. San Diego held on 7-6 in ten innings, with Machado's walk-off single to center swinging the win probability from 70% to 100%.
Atlanta came out swinging in the second inning and looked like they were going to make this a short night. Rowdy Tellez singled to center, scoring two runs. Michael Harris II doubled to right to make it 3-0. Then a walk to Olson pushed the lead to 4-0 before San Diego had even blinked. JR Ritchie had a four-run cushion and the Padres' lineup had nothing going. Then the second inning happened — again. San Diego erupted for five runs without the frame ending, capped by the ugliest play of the night: Samad Taylor reached on an infield single, and Song and Tatis Jr. both scored on a throwing error by Atlanta shortstop Mauricio Dubón. Just like that, a 4-0 Atlanta lead was a 5-4 San Diego lead, all in the same inning.
Atlanta refused to fold. Harris II scored on an Albies double in the fourth to tie it at five. Then Dubón — the same man whose error had gifted San Diego the lead — answered with a 382-foot solo shot to left in the fifth to put Atlanta back on top, 6-5. It looked like redemption. Fernando Tatis Jr. had other ideas. In the seventh, he launched a 410-foot homer to center to knot it at six, finishing the night 2-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. The story of the night was Tatis refusing to let Atlanta's comeback narrative stand unchallenged.
Ritchie gave Atlanta 5.0 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 5 hits with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts — a performance that looks like it kept Atlanta in the game long enough to nearly steal it, but ultimately left the bullpen to navigate extra innings. San Diego's pitching staff pieced it together: Mason Miller was untouchable through 2.0 innings (0 hits, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts), and Kyle Hart added 2.0 innings of 1-run ball with 3 more strikeouts. In the tenth, with the win probability sitting at 70% for San Diego, Machado singled to center and Merrill scored — the game's decisive moment, swinging that probability to 100% and sending the Padres home with a 7-6 win that felt like it was earned the hard way.