Petco Park- San Diego

There was a bit of optimism coming into Tuesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Padres’ bats are slowly but surely coming to life. That said, signs point to the Friars regressing to their small-ball strategies of last season.

Ideologically, the Reds-Padres starting pitching matchup was a game of fire and ice. The aptly named Chase Burns is the Reds’ ace, with Hunter Greene still on the IL. The Padres’ rotation still has no true ace but relatively solid starting pitching. Burns threw a six-pitch first inning to Lucas Giolito’s 16 to illustrate this point.

A two-out walk in the second inning led to a run scoring, causing the Padres to trail. In this most recent homestand against the Mets and Reds, the Padres have scored first only once.

Before the start of the game, the Padres X account announced that Xander Bogaerts would be out on the Paternity List, meaning he’ll be out of the lineup for the next two games. In response, the Padres called up Will Wagner from Triple-A El Paso. A utility man acquired at last year’s trade deadline.

We have placed INF Xander Bogaerts on the Paternity List and recalled INF Will Wagner from Triple-A El Paso.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 9, 2026

This is probably in response to recent callups like Samad Taylor and Jace Bowen being high-impact players as of late. As Manager Craig Stammen put it Monday night, “they basically won us the game…”

“They basically won us the game tonight.”
From the bunts, stolen bases and defense, Craig Stammen on what Samad Taylor and Jase Bowen displayed tonight for the Padres. @FriarTerritory pic.twitter.com/lnmTlkNXHX

— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) June 9, 2026

Wagner got the nod starting as DH in today’s game. On the night, Wagner went 1-for-2.

Reds left fielder JJ Bleday began a third-inning rally that ended with him scoring on a fielder’s choice thanks to a fielding error from Giolito. He made it right, two batters later, successfully fielding another comebacker from Matt McLain. He would end the night with two runs, only one of them earned.

The Padres responded on their turn in the third, scoring two runs from their 1-3 hitters. A nice change of pace given their recent struggles. It began with a knock from Fernando Tatis Jr., followed by a Jackson Merill Triple, his first of the 2026 season.

Jackson Merrill’s RBI triple

The Padres score the first run of the day#MLB #ForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/7nnoItVchB

— San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) June 10, 2026

With the game tied, the tides turned, and now the Padres could focus on what their strategy this year has always been. Keep the other team scoreless and squeak out any production you can in that time. It’s a strategy that’s failed as of late, but one the club can’t seem to grow out of.

In any case, David Morgan followed the script well, striking out a career-high-tying four batters in his 1 2/3 inning appearance. Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, and Mason Miller all followed suit despite pitching, allowing a season-high combined eight total bases on balls.

In the same situation, the Reds cannot normally rely on their bullpen and thus had to stretch Burns as far as they could. However, despite their recent struggles, they went toe to toe with the Padres, getting out of every jam they found themselves in.

No team would score again until extras, as both teams would cash in their automatic baserunners in the tenth. Then, in the eleventh, Yuki Matsui allowed a two-run homer from Sal Stewart. The Padres would have no response and lose to the Reds in extras. In total, the Padres left 13 men on base.

The Padres and Reds return to Petco Park on Wednesday afternoon to complete the series.

Brady Singer 2-6 5.89 ERA takes the mound for the Reds, while Michael King 4-5 3.41 ERA steps up for the Padres.

Fabian Garcia