The San Diego Padres played their first extra-innings game of the 2026 season and the first under new manager Craig Stammen. It took 12 innings for the Padres to top the Colorado Rockies in their series opener at Petco Park on Thursday night, giving them and Stammen the win.
The game was settled in the bottom of the 12th inning when Xander Bogaerts blasted a grand slam home run deep into the left field bleachers for a walk-off 7-3 win. The San Diego shortstop made Colorado pay for issuing intentional walks to Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado with Jake Cronenworth on third base after a Fernando Tatis Jr. sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Bogaerts delivered the game winning drive on a 1-0 pitch on the inside part of the plate that sent the Friar Faithful home happy.
The game-winning heroics by Bogaerts required Cronenworth to make a game-saving throw to the plate on a two-hopper on the infield to give San Diego a chance to win the game in extras. With one out in the top of the 12th inning, Cronenworth fielded a ground ball off the bat of Brenton Doyle and threw quickly to Luis Campusano at home plate who applied a tag to Willi Castro to keep the game tied, 3-3. Reliever David Morgan got the Padres out of the inning two batters later when Kyle Karros grounded out to Bogaerts at shortstop, sending Tatis Jr., Merrill and Machado to the plate with a chance to win the game.
The end of the game got the headlines and overshadowed another fabulous start from Randy Vasquez, who pitched 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on seven hits with eight strikeouts and no walks allowed. Vasquez worked in and out of trouble throughout the game but the one blemish on his start was a solo home run allowed to Doyle in the top of the third inning.
The San Diego offense matched the one run scored by Colorado in the bottom half of the inning when Freddy Fermin and Cronenworth hit back-to-back one out singles to put runners at the corners for Tatis Jr. The Padres right fielder lifted an 0-1 pitch into left field that allowed Fermin to tag up and score from third base.
Neither offense could do much against the opposing pitchers and the game remained tied into the 10th inning. Both teams scored runs in the 10th and 11th innings and the game was decided in the 12th.
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San Diego and Colorado play Friday at 6:40 p.m. and the Padres will wear their City Connect 2.0 uniforms, which were officially unveiled on Thursday.
