One of the great things about baseball is you’re always just one swing away from having a great day.
San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out in each of his first four at-bats against Boston Red Sox pitching on Saturday afternoon. But, in the top of the 9th inning, against closer Aroldis Chapman, the All-Star outfielder found one good swing. Tatis Jr. lined a 113-MPH double to centerfield, with two strikes no less, and scored on an RBI single by Ramon Laureano to give the Padres a 3-2 win and, at least temporarily, avoid losing their first three series of the season.
San Diego starter Randy Vasquez was in line for a win with another great start. Vasquez tossed 6.0 innings of one-run ball. Through his first two outings of 2026 he’s gone 12.0 innings with a 0.75 ERA. His offense got just enough to give him a slim lead.
Bryce Johnson brought home the first run of the game with an RBI groundout and Freddy Fermin added a run-scoring double in the 3rd inning against Red Sox starter Connelly Early. San Diego led 2-1 in the 8th inning and Adrian Morejon ran into a little trouble. With runners on the corners and one out he got a comebacker from Andruw Monasterio that looked like an easy double play ball.
Morejon’s throw to 2nd base hit Jake Cronenworth’s glove … and fell right out. Cronenworth recovered to get one out but the throw to 1st base was late, allowing Ceddanne Rafaela to score the tying run. Luckily for the Friars, it only served to set up the 9th inning knocks by Tatis Jr. and Laureano.
To the surprise of nobody closer Mason Miller struck out the side in the 9th. The Padres have won three games and Miller finished all of them. San Diego can win their first series of 2026 on Sunday with Walker Buehler on the mound against Ranger Suarez.
