Petco Park – San Diego

The Padres continue their homestand with a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Petco Park.

The Padres are still in the process of working things out. After two weeks straight of nothing but baseball and mixed results, the club finds itself at a crossroads. A series win against the Blue Jays would be a good sendoff as Major League Baseball heads into the All-Star Break.

JP Sears is the Padres’ newest pitching experiment, which has given mixed results. Against the World Series runner-up, the matchup seems one-sided. However, the game told a very different story, at least at the start.

The Padres struck first, gaining a two-run lead for Sears to work with thanks to a two-run homer from Xander Bogaerts.

X Gon’ Give It To Ya pic.twitter.com/lKC6AL4whw

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 11, 2026

Sears took the opportunity in stride, turning in three consecutive scoreless frames. Against the Dodgers, Sears displayed some serious adjustments that allowed him to take them into five no-hit innings. On Friday, it felt like it was building off that momentum until it wasn’t.

He put himself into a jam on his turn in the fourth. Then a double from Alejandro Kirk broke the scoreless streak. The Padres had a chance to respond immediately but fell short of scoring, leaving two men on base.

Sears came back but quickly lost it, allowing two men on. Jhony Brito came in in relief but on the first pitch allowed a single from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., tying the game at 2-2.

The inning continued its downward spiral, with two men still on, Kazuna Okamoto hit a three-run homer, bringing the Blue Jays to a leading 5-2. The inning would end shortly thereafter, but the damage was done.

Things would stay the same until the sixth inning. With a man on third, the Padres pinch-hit Jace Bowen with Luis Rengifo. Unfortunately, in his first appearance in a Padres uniform, Rengifo struck out. The Padres continued their pinch-hit bids, this time with Rodolfo Duran for Luis Campusano.

Campusano is quietly one of the Padres’ most consistent players, getting on base very often either via walks or well-placed hits. This wasn’t one of those shining moments, and the Padres left a man on third.

After eight straight scoreless innings, the Padres were down to their very final out with Luis Campusano and Fernando Tatis Jr. on base. For both of them, it was their first hit of the night. Jackson Merrill fired a shot to left field, allowing Campusano to score from second. It would be up to Bogaerts to even the score or walk it off. However, as quickly as it began, a groundout to third base ended the show.

The offense continues its woes, unable to come back from blown leads. The Friars’ bullpen did manage to keep the score the same for four straight innings, but that wasn’t enough time for the offense to get up and running again despite the late-game rally.

The Padres continue their weekend series Saturday night against the Blue Jays.

On the mound for the Blue Birds is Trey Yesavage (4-4, 3.31 ERA), and for the Padres is Walker Buehler (5-5, 5.07 ERA).

Fabian Garcia