Padres ride early Bogaerts bomb and Vasquez’s solid outing to series win over Angels
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
After a devastating loss on Monday that saw Robert Suarez walk four in a row to eventually lose the game in the ninth inning, followed by a walk-off homer by Tatis last night, the Padres looked to win the series on Wednesday.
Randy Vasquez has quietly been one of the steadiest starting pitchers on the Padres’ roster thus far this season. That proved true once again Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Petco Park as he boosted the Padres to a series win.
San Diego made a statement early. In the bottom of the first, Xander Bogaerts came to the plate with two on and two outs. After a grueling nine-pitch at bat against veteran soft-tosser Kyle Hendricks, Bogaerts launched a missile over the left field wall for a three-run homer. His third homer of the year put the Padres in front 3-0 early and let Vasquez and the rest of the team settle in.
Xander Bogaerts won a nine-pitch battle against Kyle Hendricks with this three-run shot. It's tied for the longest Bogaerts at-bat to result in a home run. He also went nine pitches against Cody Allen in 2014. pic.twitter.com/dhaO1SfGpD
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) May 15, 2025
After the game, Bogaerts said, “(Hendricks) threw me a lot of changeups. I was more ready for the changeup than any other pitch.”
Angels outfielder Taylor Ward continued to be a menace in this series as he responded with a solo homer in the top of the second to make it 3-1.
However, that was basically all the momentum the Angels were able to muster against Vasquez. He tossed six innings, allowing just that one run, walking just one, while striking out five. Now, through nine starts, he owns a solid 3.45 ERA.
San Diego added two late, in the bottom of the eighth. After a single, an error, and a walk, outfielder Brandon Lockridge came up with the bases loaded and two outs. The left fielder lined a two-run single to increase the Padres’ lead to 5-1, which provided Petco Park with a big sigh of relief.
Manager Mike Shildt made a heady move to put Robert Suarez in for the top of the ninth despite not being a save situation. First, the Padres have an off day on Thursday, so he won’t be pressed into duty tomorrow either way. Plus, Suarez needed to rebuild that positive momentum after it completely evaporated with his blown save on Monday. Suarez made light work of the Angels on Wednesday, going 1-2-3 to seal the series win.
As mentioned, the Padres now go into an off day at home before a weekend series against the Seattle Mariners. They rebounded nicely after a gutting loss on Monday. The bullpen also provided some positive momentum after a rough stretch, with Alek Jacob and Adrian Morejon also offering scoreless outings tonight.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.