Petco Park – San Diego

The San Diego Padres returned to Petco Park to try to complete a series sweep against the Atlanta Braves this Wednesday.

Despite being one of the best teams in baseball, the Padres have held their own against the Braves, narrowly avoiding a series loss by a single run in both games.

JP Sears has had a locker in the Padres clubhouse since Tuesday and made his season debut in this game. Craig Stammen spoke to the press on Wednesday afternoon about how important getting a left-handed pitcher in the rotation was.

Craig Stammen shared his expectations for JP Sears: pic.twitter.com/ZXnGZVUWjL

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 24, 2026

The Braves subsequently adjusted today’s lineup accordingly, but Stammen maintained that a majority of their best hitters are lefties.

Historically, JP Sears, since his acquisition at last year’s trade deadline, hasn’t been a very productive player for the Friars. He had a 2-2 record in his five starts for the Padres with a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 innings pitched. His spot in the rotation is circumstantial, given the rough outings from Lucas Giolito and Griffin Canning.

The same cannot be said about opposing pitcher Martin Perez, who played for the Padres in 2024. He was another trade deadline acquisition, and for the Friars, he threw 52 innings to the tune of a 3.48 ERA and 1.212 WHIP. All things considered, he was a very reliable back-end arm for the Pads. His role with the Braves is similarly invaluable, providing them with very quality starts in nearly all outings so far.

Despite how things looked before the game started, the first few innings were oddly quiet outside of a few hits.

A solo homer from Ty France in the third inning would break the silence and put the Padres on the board first.

Ty’s flying high. pic.twitter.com/DjjSbNdEK3

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 25, 2026

JP Sears would soon bend, loading the bases in the subsequent inning. However, he wouldn’t break, getting out of the jam with relative ease.

Perez found himself in a similar jam just moments later, loading the bases with the Padres. The lineup would end up making a near full revolution back to Ty France, and a sac-fly extended their lead. A walk from Freddy Fermin reloaded the bases once again, but Jace Bowen struck out looking, ending the inning for Perez.

The Braves continued to battle. However, every hole Sears found himself in, he dug himself out of it. On today’s outing, his control was exceptional. Even when falling behind in count, he made very intelligent adjustments to turn the tide back.

Perez’s night got even more difficult.  After allowing another walk and failing to field a bunt bid from Samad Taylor, he exited the game with James Karinchak to relieve him.

A double steal from Taylor and Fernando Tatis Jr. put the latter on third base. Then a single from Xander Bogaerts allowed him to score, making the game 3-0.

JP Sears would approach his next inning the same way he did before, but a two-run homer from Joey Bart sent him packing with one out left. In any case, this was still one of Sears’ most valuable starts in a Padres uniform, going deep enough without having to go into the depleted bullpen.

David Morgan came in to get the final out and would complete the next inning with ease, and so would Wandy Peralta, who opened yesterday’s game.

Braves’ pitching, meanwhile, struggled to put the Padres away. France continued his tear, reaching the bases once again with a double in the sixth. Then, a Fermin bunt put him on third. Jace Bowen also redeemed himself by taking a walk and stealing second. Taylor knocked both men in thanks to a line drive to deep right field.

all our homies love samad 🫶 pic.twitter.com/tfKAL64Lst

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 25, 2026

They had to chance to extend their momentum, but Taylor got caught stealing soon after.

The Padres and Braves stayed quiet there after. With Mason Miller out, Jason Adam came out in the ninth to close the game for the Padres. He did so on 13 pitches, picking up his second save of 2026.

The Padres return to Petco Park on Friday to rematch against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On the mound for the Dodgers is Roki Sasaki (3-4, 4.76 ERA), his first game against the team that originally tried to acquire him. Walker Buehler (4-3, 3.96 ERA) gets the nod from the Padres to face his old team.

Fabian Garcia