Padres win second game of series against Braves, 4-3
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, California
The San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves went at it for the second game of their four-game series.
Reynaldo Lopez faced off against Dylan Cease in both of their 2025 regular season debuts. The Padres were looking to take their record to 2-0, while the Braves came in looking for their first win of the season.
Dylan Cease started the first inning strong, striking out all four hitters he faced. Fernando Tatis Jr. led the bottom of the first off with a long home run to left field (his first of the year), which opened the scoring for the Padres.
Cease had another strong second inning and made quick work of the Braves lineup. Martin Maldonado added to the Padres’ lead in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out single. The Braves tied the game in the third inning with a bases-loaded single by Marcell Ozuna.
Xander Bogaerts doubled in the bottom of the third inning to give the Padres the lead once again. Petco Park went wild. However, Jarred Kelenic tied the game with a home run to the right field corner in the top of the fifth inning.
Cease finishes his day by throwing 4.1 innings and a total of 93 pitches. Reynaldo Lopez finished his day throwing five complete innings and 94 total pitches.
It went into a bullpen game for a few innings as the two teams went scoreless for a few frames.
Jake Cronenworth broke the tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a home run to right field making it 4-3. The second baseman jumped on a hanging off-speed pitch while he was ahead in the count. It was Cronenworth’s first home run of the year and came at a very clutch time.
Robert Suarez earned his second save of the year.
The Padres won 4-3. They are 2-0 for the first time since 2021.
The Padres’ bullpen once again carried the pitching staff, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing no runs on one hit. Through two games, the Padres’ bullpen has allowed one run through 11 innings, giving up only four hits.
After the game, Mike Shildt praised the team for how the offense performed against tough pitchers such as Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez. “I’m very pleased you know, good approaches, ready for any and all situations, Tati starting us off emphatically so that was fun obviously,” Shildt said.
The Padres now look to take the series against the Braves tomorrow in the third game of the series.
The first pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.
