Petco Park – San Diego

The San Diego Padres played their third of four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park.

Previously, the Padres took a bite out of the D-backs on Tuesday night following a rough shutout loss. After a very difficult away stand, the Padres have the chance to bounce back before the All-Star Break.

At the moment, the club is working with a patchwork of players following many injuries to key starters.

Adding to the list on Wednesday morning was Samad Taylor. The Padres’ official X account announced that he would hit the 10-day IL, and in response, Luis Rengifo would get added to the major league roster.

We have selected INF/OF Luis Rengifo (No. 21) from Triple-A El Paso and placed OF Samad Taylor on the 10-day IL (right oblique strain).

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 8, 2026

Manny Machado also sat out Wednesday night after fouling a ball off his foot in the previous game.

The starters today began the game on opposite footing. Michael King was shaky, immediately allowing a run to score off a double from Gabriel Moreno.

For Jose Cabrera, this was his fourth career start in the majors, and he blew through the Padres’ lineup in the first two innings. However, it’s not how you start; it’s how you adjust.

King would make a few adjustments on his next turn, turning in a scoreless inning and collecting a few strikeouts.

What initially looked like a brewing pitching duel quickly boiled over to an all-out attack from the Padres in the third inning. A magnificent double steal from Sung-Mun Song and Fernando Tatis Jr. put Cabrera on the ropes with Jackson Merrill due up. A soft grounder allowed Song to score. Xander Bogarets would continue the battle but ultimately leave the game tied at 1-1.

The Padres extended their score on their next turn thanks to the dual efforts of Luis Campusano and Miguel Andujar. Unfortunately, this would be another one-run inning for the squad.

Gettin’ Miggy Wit It pic.twitter.com/k1qOEOATor

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

Despite having a pretty solid outing, Cabrera failed to make any adjustments, allowing the Padres to exploit his rookie tendencies. A sharp hit from Jackson Merrill could have been an out, but Cabrera threw to second, failing to get the force out on Tatis. Fernando continued to be a menace on the bases, drawing a balk from Cabrera, advancing everyone. This call led to the ejection of Diamondbacks manager Tony Lovullo.

The bad luck would continue for the D-Backs after a single from Bogaerts, who would cash in Tatis Jr. and Merrill—making the game 4-1. That would be the end of the night for Cabrera.

Conversely, King would end his night after six full innings of just one-run ball. Despite reaching full counts several times, the damage was always minimized thanks to his constant adjustments.

Trouble continued for the Diamondbacks, as a solo homer from Luis Campusano started the sixth and continued the Padres’ momentum.

Gone Campin’ pic.twitter.com/0Q9aFMDqcn

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

Directly after Miguel Andujar hit a liner to left field, cruising into second base. Song down on strikes managed to catch a changeup that gave Andujar enough time to score.

Song reached second base due to a poor pickoff throw from D-backs reliever Taylor Clarke, allowing Tatis Jr. to score.

The Padres continued to trade opposite-field drives between lefties and righties, bringing the score to 8-1. Amidst the chaos, Jase Bowen even managed to get his first big-league RBI.

First Major League RBI for Jase! pic.twitter.com/P1ViKWnkac

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

Not unlike the Diamondbacks, the Padres’ bullpen quickly let things go.

Ron Marinaccio allowed a few baserunners and surrendered a two-run homer from Tommy Troy, closing the gap between the NL West Rivals.

The Padres continued to respond, putting up another two runs on their next turn, keeping the lead the same as it was before the Diamondbacks homered.

The Snakes would continue to claw back, but ultimately couldn’t overcome the six-run deficit.

Despite a quiet start, the Padres would score in nearly every inning following the second, bringing the game to its final score of 10-4.

The series finale between the Padres and Diamondbacks at Petco Park is on Thursday night at 6:40 PST.

Probable pitchers for the Diamondbacks and Padres are Merrill Kelly (6-8, 5.71 ERA) and Griffin Canning (1-6, 6.71 ERA), respectively.

Fabian Garcia