San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen made a statement about his catchers early in Spring Training. He told reporters at the Peoria Sports Complex that Luis Campusano was not only going to be on the team, but that he would be a contributor for the Padres. That vote of confidence was not something Campusano received under the previous two managers Bob Melvin, a former catcher, and Mike Shildt. The latter practically refused to play him despite his success and numbers in Triple-A with the El Paso Chihuahuas.
The confidence Stammen showed in Campusano has paid off this season and it was on full display in San Diego’s come-from-behind walk-off win over the Milwaukee Brewers in a 4-3, 11-inning win at Petco Park on Wednesday. Campusano delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 11th inning with a single to right field. Pinch-runner Sung-Mun Song, who was on second base, raced home and slid headfirst just under and ahead of the tag from former Padres catcher Gary Sanchez to give the Padres a series sweep of the Brewers.
Campusano also made an impact in the 10th inning with his defense, something the previous two managers pointed to as to why he could not see playing time with the MLB club. Campusano threw out Bryce Turang, who was the automatic runner at second base to start the inning, with no outs in the inning. Campusano threw a strike to Manny Machado who applied the tag for the first out of the inning and reliever Adrian Morejon got a strikeout and a flyout from two of the next three batters to give the Padres a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning.
The Padres were unable to score in the 10th and the game progressed into the 11th inning where Morejon got into trouble and allowed the automatic runner to score on a leadoff double by Sanchez to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead. Sanchez advanced to third on a wild pitch and Morejon had to get three outs with a runner on third base. The left-hander issued a walk to Garrett Mitchell but then recorded back-to-back strikeouts before issuing an intentional walk. Morejon then struck out Turang for the third out of the inning and set San Diego up for the dramatic bottom of the inning.
Jake Cronenworth started the bottom of the 11th inning as the automatic runner, and he was able to advance to third base on a Machado groundout. Ty France was then hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners and Song came in to pinch-run. Jackson Merrill like a ball into deep right field, which was caught for the second out of the inning, but it allowed Cronenworth to tag up and score to tie the game at 3-3. Song then stole second base to put himself in position to score on a hit and he did just that when Campusano singled on the fifth pitch of the at-bat to win the game.
The Padres offense was stymied for much of the game by Brewers starter Dustin May. The right-hander pitched into the eighth inning and the only run he allowed came on a Xander Bogaerts solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. Robbie Ray had a rocky outing but limited the damage to just two runs which kept San Diego in the game long enough to pull out the win.
With the win and losses by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies, the Padres moved into the second Wild Card position leapfrogging both contenders. San Diego will look to carry the momentum of a 5-1 homestand on the road when they face the Cleveland Gauradians on Friday after a day off today.
Padres News:
- Adrian Morejon survived the Trade Deadline and remained with the Padres. He has expressed a desire to remain in San Diego beyond the 2026 season. Gaslamp Ballasked its readers if they would extend the left-hander.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Fernando Tatis Jr. showed shades of a speedy former Padre in the walk-off win over the Brewers.
- David Morgan is continuing his rehab work at Triple-A and hopes to contribute to the MLB team in the near future.
- Dennis Lin of The Athletic asked a question not many Padres fans have asked. “Are the Padres ready for Ethan Salas?” The catcher has been having success at Triple-A but a possible callup is still in question.
Baseball News:
- Alex Bregman hit three home runs and drove in seven to lead the Chicago Cubs over the Washington Nationals.
- Luis Castillo recorded 10 strikeouts to lead the Chicago White Sox over the Cincinnati Reds.
- The Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets behind a strong outing from Tyer Mahle.
- The St. Louis Cardinals topped the Philadelphia Phillies.
- The Miami Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates and extended their win streak to four games.
- The Colorado Rockies got their first series win in Arizona against the Diamondbacks since 2022.