The San Diego Padres (85-69) look to take the series against the Miami Marlins(76-78). They come into the night with a magic number of four to make the playoffs. On the mound for the Padres was Casey Mize, and for the Marlins, they had Eury Perez. 

It’s KPop Demon Hunters Night ? pic.twitter.com/MGF5YOqEGo

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 19, 2026

Marlins jump in front in the second, but Samad Taylor answers

Casey Mize is still trying to find a rhythm as a San Diego Padres pitcher, and this game wasn’t much cleaner from the starter. Back-to-back singles from Jakob Marsee and Agustin Ramirez to start the top of the second. With runners on the corners, Joe Mack would ground into a force out at second, which would score Marsee from third. Esteury Ruiz would then sac-bunt to the pitcher to move Mack to second. Then, with one swing of the bat, the Marlins put up a crooked number as Otto Lopez gets a hold of a two-run shot to left-center for a 3-0 Marlins lead.

But the Padres have been hot, winning 11 of their last 12 starts, as they chipping away fast. With one out in the bottom of the second, Samad Taylor would launch a 388 ft solo shot to left for the Friars’ first run of the game.

Swing it, Samad! pic.twitter.com/HXYh3zh6in

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2026

Both sides keep taking jabs at each other in the third

The third inning was more of the same from both squads. Miami began with a one-out walk in the top half of the inning. Agustin Ramirez would hit a double to left to score the man from first and get the Marlins’ lead back to three. Mize would then get Joe Mack to ground out to first for the second out; Ramirez would advance to third. Esteury Ruiz would get a single to left to drive in Ramirez to give the Fish a 5-1 advantage.

Here come the Padres in the bottom half of the third as Manny Machado and Ty France get singles to begin the inning. Jackson Merrill would strike out, and Luis Campusano would work a walk to get the bases loaded. Bringing up Jake Cronenworth, who would only see four pitches as he walked to bring in Machado. During Samad Taylor’s at-bat, pitcher Eury Ruiz would balk, bringing in Merrill for the second run of the inning. Taylor would chip a sac fly to center to bring in Campusano to make the score 5-4.

Fernando Tatis Jr. leaves the yard to knot things up

What a second half of the season from Fernando Tatis Jr., quite an amazing stretch as he hopes to get the Padres into the playoffs. He led off the bottom of the fourth with a 410ft blast to center field to tie things up at five apiece.

El Niño’s heating up in September. pic.twitter.com/Kw2gB15Xw3

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2026

Padres jump on top in the sixth

With other games finishing up, this game proved to be a crucial win for the Padres as the Cubs beat the Reds, and the Phillies fell to the Mets. Dustin Harris would get the bottom of the sixth, going with a double to left with one out. Manny Machado would strike out for the second out. This would bring up Mr.Reliable Ty France, and he would do a job with a double shot into the right-center gap to bring Harris in for the 6-5 lead.

We love when Big Eiffel lights up at night. pic.twitter.com/xrenYSv2HT

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2026

Bullpen comes up big in the seventh and eighth, but heartbreak comes in the ninth

San Diego found themselves in a dicey situation in the top of the seventh. Runners on the corners, two outs, with Yuki Matsui on the mound. But they called to the pen for setup man, Adrian Morejon. He was tasked with getting Agustin Ramirez out to close out the top half of the seventh. And he did just that, blowing a 99.5mph by him for out number three.

Then came the eighth as things got tense once again. Morejon would walk Esteury Ruiz and Otto Lopez. But no need to fear; Mason Miller is here to clean up the mess once again. Miller struck out both Heriberto Hernandez and Kyle Stowers to get himself to the ninth. However, here would come the heartbreak. After striking out Javier Sanoja, Griffin Conine would crank a 427ft homerun to right field off of Miller to tie things up 6-6.

Griffin Conine ties the game with a MONSTER home run ? pic.twitter.com/8lWBWvULMO

— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2026

David Morgan does his job to give San Diego a chance to walk it off

In what has been an up-and-down season for once promising reliever David Morgan, he came up big tonight. With Agustin Ramirez on second to begin the top of the tenth, he struck out Deyvison De Los Santos and Esteury Ruiz. The Padres would intentionally walk Otto Lopez to face Heriberto Hernandez. A low curveball got served into center field right at Jackson Merrill for the last out of the top of the tenth.

Prime position for the Friars to get the magic number down to three. A final score in the desert showed the Diamondbacks weren’t gonna help San Diego tonight as they beat the Yankees. So it was in their hands to capture the night. Jake Cronenworth on second, Sung-Mun Song to bat. After two fouled-off bunts, pitcher Josh Ekness would throw a wild pitch at the feet of Song to advance Cronenworth to third. Song would strike out swinging for the first out.

Then came a gutsy decision by manager Craig Stammen, who would pinch-hit for the 20-year-old sensation Ethan Salas. Salas would fall behind 0-2 as the crowd in San Diego anxiously sat watching the young star in one of the first of many big moments as a Padre. He would get a 98.7mph fastball right at the bottom of the zone, which he kicked up the middle for a base hit and notched his first career walk-off for a 7-6 Padres win.

IT’S TARPS OFF FOR ETHAN SALAS pic.twitter.com/KYoyQJaBY3

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2026

Going for the Sweep

The San Diego Padres (86-69) look to go for the sweep of the Miami Marlins (76-79) tomorrow afternoon at Petco Park. Toeing the rubber is Walker Buehler against Sandy Alcantara. Game three is at 1:10 pm as the Padres look to climb closer to a playoff berth.

Wyatt Dearen

Hi Padres fans, I’m Wyatt Dearen. I am from Farmington, New Mexico, which is home to one of the most prestigious high school baseball tournaments in America, the Connie Mack World Series. When it comes around, I do color and statistics for the radio. I am currently pursuing a degree in Sports Administration at the University of Houston #GoCoogs. I have been a sports fan my whole life, following all the major sports leagues since I could walk, and it has been my dream my whole life to work in sports. Thankful to write about the team and for the East VillageTimes.