​The San Diego Padres pushed the winning run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against the Toronto Blue Jays. Xander Bogaerts stepped into the batter’s box with Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. on first and second after San Diego had rattled off three straight two-out hits off Padres closer Louis Varland. Bogaerts worked the count full, but on the final pitch of the at-bat he slapped a routine grounder to third base, resulting in the final out and a 5-3 loss for San Diego in the series opener at Petco Park on Friday night.
The Padres trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of the ninth. Jake Cronenworth pinch hit and struck out to begin the inning, and Luis Rengifo lofted a deep fly ball to left for the second out. Luis Campusano lined a single back through the middle, and Tatis followed with a line drive single through the right side. Merrill then delivered another base hit, scoring Campusano and pulling the Padres within two at 5-3. Bogaerts represented the winning run as Petco Park held its collective breath for one big hit from the shortstop.
Bogaerts had started the scoring in the bottom of the first, connecting on a two-run homer off starter Shane Bieber to give San Diego a 2-0 lead. Given Tatis’s speed and Merrill’s baserunning on a 3-2 pitch, a single by Bogaerts might have tied the game, and would likely have brought Manny Machado to the plate next. But that’s not how the at-bat played out. Bogaerts hit a ground ball to Toronto third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who fired across the diamond in time to retire Bogaerts and end the inning—and the game—for the Jays.
Okamoto would provide the game’s pivotal moment earlier, in the top of the fifth. Padres starter JP Sears allowed two of the first three batters to reach on singles before Jhony Brito came in to face Vladímir Guerrero Jr. Brito yielded an RBI single as Toronto tied the game at 2-2. Then Brito faced Okamoto, who won a seven-pitch at-bat with a 377-foot three-run homer to left field, giving the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead.
San Diego will try to prevent a two-game slide in the series’ second game against Toronto, scheduled for today at 5:40 p.m.
Padres notes and broader context: The All-Star break presents Michael King with a chance to reset his mindset ahead of the second half, as discussed by Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball. The Padres also see the 2026 MLB Draft as an opportunity to rebuild minor league depth, according to Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball. AJ Cassavell of Padres.com examines what Mason Miller did to begin the 2026 season as an All-Star caliber start. Ty France faced his former team in the series opener against the Blue Jays. Freddy Fermin went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter for El Paso.