Ty France homers twice to help Padres beat Diamondbacks 6-4 in Mexico City
Credit: MLB
The San Diego Padres (17-8) take a trip to Mexico City, Mexico, to face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks (14-11).
The Mexico City series is being played at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú. Heading into the day, the Padres hold sole possession of first place in the NL West, so this is a big divisional matchup this weekend for San Diego. The Padres had German Marquez on the mound, looking to keep an impressive stretch going with his 3.86 ERA to start the season. For the Diamondbacks, they put their ace Zac Gallen on the bump to try to gain a game in the division.
Diamondbacks jump on top early
Marquez was off to a smooth start, retiring the first five, striking out two. However, chaos broke out in the bottom of the second inning. After getting the first two outs to start, Marquez gave up back-to-back singles to Ildemaro Vargas and Nolan Arenado. Next up was Jose Fernandez, who would cash in on this two-out thunder by lacing a double in the left-center gap, scoring both the runners on base. Arizona led 2-0.
Then Alek Thomas got a hold of a hanging inside slider and deposited it over the right field wall for a 405ft two-run shot, giving AZ a 4-0 lead. A seven-pitch duel with Geroldo Perdomo led to the final out of the inning.
¡CINCOmentarios! pic.twitter.com/Gk5NIyOm1i
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 25, 2026
Zac Gallen leaves prematurely in his start
Zac Gallen was off to a pretty efficient start, but he was forced to leave early due to injury. In the top of the third, Freddy Fermin hit a 92.3 MPH linedrive off of Gallen’s right shoulder. Fermin would reach with a single. He would finish the inning, but he was replaced in the fourth by Brandon Pfaadt. Gallen finished the day with three innings pitched, giving up one hit, no walks, no runs, and grabbing three strikeouts.
Ty France gets the Padres on the board, and Marquez keeps the game in reach
After being shut out for the first four and two-thirds innings, Ty France got San Diego on the board with a solo shot to right field. Pfaadt left a sinker over the middle of the plate, and France smashed it 105.5 mph for his second home run of the season.
¡Sigue la pirotecnia en la Mexico City Series! 🇲🇽🎇⚾ Cuadrangular solitario de Ty France 🚀 para poner a los Padres en la pizarra pic.twitter.com/b5gnWwIZDB
— MLB México (@MLB_Mexico) April 25, 2026
On the other hand, Marquez was exceptional after the rough second inning. He kept the basepath pretty quiet the rest of the outing and didn’t give up many hard-hit balls. There was a fear that, with the elevation in Mexico City, this game could balloon into a scoring fest, but Marquez kept the Padres in the game, hoping the offense could pick him up. Marquez finished the day with six innings pitched, giving up six hits, one walk, four runs (all earned), and collecting two strikeouts.
Padres’ late-inning offensive surges are becoming a theme in 2026
If you thought coming into the day that the Padres’ offense in high elevation was gonna get going early, you were wrong. But this offense loves getting your heart rate up and keeping you on the edge of your seat late.
To kick off the top of the seventh, Jackson Merrill had a really impressive at-bat that lasted ten pitches and ended up working a walk. Manny Machado, next in line, hits a single to right. During the next at-bat, Brandon Pfaadt had a major blunder where he disengaged three times, which is a balk, and both runners moved up a base. Xander Bogaerts, in that plate appearance, got a walk setting up Gavin Sheets with the bases loaded. The walk ended Pfaadt’s day. The Diamondbacks went to Taylor Clarke to try to get out of the jam.
Just two days removed after a clutch three-run homer in Colorado, Sheets came through again, getting a two RBI single past the first baseman down the right field line; the Diamondbacks still led 4-3. Merrill and Machado both scored, and Bogaerts moved to second.
Gavin Sheets drives in a pair and makes this a 1-run ballgame 👏#MexicoCitySeries pic.twitter.com/jpQmngEJGM
— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2026
Still no outs, France hit what looked to be an easy double play ball to Geraldo Perdomo, but he was unable to secure the ball. Perdomo looked to have rolled his ankle and was pulled from the game. Bases juiced again, passing the baton now to Fermin, who got a sac fly to left, bringing across the tying run.
Finally, with an out on the board, Clarke ended up hitting Jake Cronenworth in the foot, which loaded the bags once again. Ramon Laureano did his job and got another sac fly to get the Padres their first lead of the game in Mexico City. Arizona made the move to walk Fernando Tatis Jr. intentionally and ended up getting Merrill to ground out to first, which finally brought the top of the seventh to an end. Padres lead 5-4.
Ramón Laureano puts the @Padres ahead in the #MexicoCitySeries 💪 pic.twitter.com/aalNezcjTN
— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2026
Ty France doubles up on long balls, and the bullpen finishes things off
In what has been a little bit of a surprise today in the lack of home runs, France took advantage of the elevation. To lead off the top of the ninth, France got another opposite-field shot, this one closer to the right field foul pole. 101.9mph exit velocity and 370 feet for his third of the season. SD now leads 6-4.
¡Ty France sigue encendiendo la pirotecnia en la Mexico City Series! 🇲🇽🎆⚾️ Su segundo HR🚀🚀, que amplía la ventaja de San Diego. pic.twitter.com/hAkc4SdgIo
— MLB México (@MLB_Mexico) April 26, 2026
The Padres would look to the big three in the bullpen to secure their eighteenth win of the season. Adrian Morejon was the first of the big three to take the mound in the bottom of the seventh. He would get the first two outs before an error by Machado allowed Ketel Marte to reach, and a walk was given up to Corbin Carroll. Morejon kept calm and struck out Anthony Del Castillo to keep the lead.
Moving on to the eighth, Jason Adam came in to set up for the closer. Adam forced two groundouts before Machado made another error, this one throwing to allow Arenado to get on base. Jose Fernandez, up to bat, wouldn’t take advantage of this two-out thunder as he ended up grounding into a force out at second base.
Now time for Mason Miller to come in for the save and capture the win. Miller got Alek Thomas to fly out, and both Jorge Barrosa and Ketel Marte to ground out to finish things off in Mexico City for a Padres 6-4 win, their eighteenth of the season. Miller got his tenth save of the year and broke the San Diego Padres record for most consecutive scoreless innings with 34.2 and counting.
What’s next for the Padres
The San Diego Padres (18-8) will play one more time in Mexico City vs the Arizona Diamondbacks (14-12). The game is Sunday at 1:05 PM PT. The Padres will have Michael King throwing in a chance to sweep the two-game set. The Diamondbacks got Ryne Nelson, who has had a rough start to 2026 with a 6.97 ERA.
Hi Padres fans, I’m Wyatt Dearen. I am from Farmington, New Mexico, which is home to one of the most prestigious high school baseball tournaments in America, the Connie Mack World Series. When it comes around, I do color and statistics for the radio. I am currently pursuing a degree in Sports Administration at the University of Houston #GoCoogs. I have been a sports fan my whole life, following all the major sports leagues since I could walk, and it has been my dream my whole life to work in sports. Thankful to write about the team and for the East VillageTimes.