ATL Survives Padres' Six-Run Ninth, Holds On 7-6
Atlanta needed every run of a six-spot in the eighth inning to survive a stunning San Diego rally that turned a 7-1 blowout into a 7-6 nail-biter. The Padres scored five times in the ninth — capped by a Luis Rengifo two-run homer — but ran out of outs one run short.
For six innings, this game looked like a pitching duel with a slow leak. Michael King was sharp for San Diego, striking out 7 over 6.0 innings and allowing just 1 earned run, but Atlanta's Martin Perez was nearly untouchable — 4.0 innings, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 4 walks. The Braves scratched out a 1-0 lead in the first when a Harris II groundout plated a run, and that was the entire scoring output through six frames. Jackson Merrill finally answered in the seventh, launching a 449-foot shot to center to knot it at 1-1. It looked like the Padres might be turning the corner.
They weren't. The eighth inning was where Atlanta buried San Diego — or so it seemed. Six consecutive Atlanta hitters reached base and scored. Jarvis doubled to right to plate Dubón, and that hit was the dagger: Atlanta's win probability swung from 66% to 92% on that single play. Hicklen doubled to left to score Jarvis. Albies singled to right, scoring Hicklen. Olson singled to left, scoring Baldwin. Riley singled to center, scoring Albies. Smith singled to right, scoring Olson. Six singles and doubles, six runs, a 7-1 lead. The story of the eighth, it appears, was Atlanta's lineup simply refusing to make outs when it mattered most.
But the ninth inning made this game worth watching twice. Didier Fuentes, who had been solid over two innings of relief, ran into a wall. A Sheets single scored Bogaerts. Then Fernando Tatis Jr. tripled to left, clearing the bases and scoring two more — suddenly 7-4. Rengifo followed with a 359-foot homer to right, scoring Tatis Jr. and pulling San Diego to within one at 7-6. Five runs, three hits, a triple, a home run — the Padres looked like they might actually pull off the comeback. They didn't. Atlanta held on for the 7-6 win. The Braves' bullpen and offense did enough; San Diego's ninth-inning heroics, as electric as they were, came one run too late.