Padres Find Silver Lining in First Extra-Inning Loss of 2024

Sam Garcia | Jul 8, 2024

Over the past few weeks, the Padres have repeatedly faced close calls but have still found ways to pull off a win.

Saturday night, their luck ran out. 

Down by three runs in the seventh inning, an RBI double from National-League All-Star selection Jurickson Profar served as the catalyst for a two-out rally for the Padres. Jake Cronenworth's surprise bunt further narrowed Arizona's lead, but Manny Machado's subsequent strikeout left the Padres still trailing by a run going into the eighth inning.

Still down by one run, Ha-Seong Kim revived the Padres with a game-tying RBI double in the bottom of the eighth. The comeback momentum was not enough to defeat the Diamondbacks, who won in 10 innings.

Arizona scored three runs en route to a 7-5 victory, resetting the score to where it stood in the seventh. Donovan Solano gave fans one last glimmer of hope when he brought Cronenworth home, keeping the bases with no outs, but the Padres ultimately failed to capitalize on the opportunity. 

The Diamondbacks recorded three straight outs. It was San Diego's first loss in extra innings this season.

“We fight until the last pitch,” Cronenworth said, via MLB.com. “We’re putting ourselves in a position to win the game. It happened last night. It didn’t happen tonight.”

The night before the odds worked in the Padres favor. Despite surrendering a five-run lead in the ninth inning, Jurickson Profar's game-tying home run and Manny Machado's subsequent walk-off homer clinched a thrilling comeback victory in front of a record-breaking crowd at Petco Park. 

The Padres also pulled off a comeback victory in their previous homestand against the Washington Nationals. Marking the second time in franchise history and the first time since 1969, San Diego rallied for four runs in the 10th inning after being down by three runs in extra innings. 

Although the Padres ultimately fell short on Saturday, they once again displayed their resilience by battling back from a three-run deficit.