Padres complete comeback vs. Reds with walk-off in extras
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, CA
The Padres arrived home after a quick road trip to Denver. They face the Reds, who are hot on the trail of a playoff spot, four games behind San Diego, who occupy the second of three Wild Card slots.
Yu Darvish took the hill for the Padres in search of his previous form on the mound he hasn’t quite found consistently in a rocky 2025.
Monday night certainly got off to a rocky start with TJ Friedl leading off the game with a home run.
Darvish allowed another run in the third inning when Elly De La Cruz singled home Friedl. Austin Hays added a solo homer
Reds starter Nick Lodolo tossed five shutout innings, allowing just three baserunners.
Former Padre Scott Barlow relieved Lodolo in the sixth inning, and the Padres pounced. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a single and then stole second. Gavin Sheets doubled him home. Ramon Laureano worked a walk to bring up Jackson Merrill with two outs. Merrill has had a trying year full of injuries and underperformance. This time, he came through. He lined a drive into right-center deep into the gap, which gave Reds outfielders trouble. Two runs scored, and Merrill got to third for his fifth triple of the season.
This tied the game, and the score remained 3-3 until extra innings. Robert Suarez got five outs in the ninth and 10th innings, becoming instrumental in keeping the Reds at bay. Manager Mike Shildt gave Wandy Peralta the ball with two outs in the 10th inning, and he was able to complete the crucial scoreless 10th.
This gave the Padres an opportunity to walk the game off with just one run. Freddy Fermin pressed the issue, laying down a bunt. A throwing error by Nick Martinez gave the Padres runners on first and third with zero outs. Tatis lined a sacrifice fly into left-center to score Jake Cronenworth and seal the comeback victory.
Fernando Tatis Jr. gets the job done with a #walkoff sac fly! pic.twitter.com/FMD6zAbrZC
— MLB (@MLB) September 9, 2025
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.