Padres Daily: They did it again; Campusano, man behind the walk-offs; heroics before the heroics

Good morning,

That doesn’t happen all the time. Maybe once a decade.

The Padres scored five runs in the ninth inning to beat the Mariners 7-6 last night.

You can read Jeff Sanders’ game story (here) about the comeback, Jackson Merrill’s walk-off double and some of the notable things that occurred before the ninth inning.

The victory was the Padres’ seventh in a row, their longest winning streak since they began last season 7-0.

The last time they won a game in the ninth inning when they began it down by four runs was Sept. 9, 2017.

The difference between that team, which lost 91 games, and this one is that the current Padres have established this type of effort is what they are about.

They have been the Big Brown Machine over the past week.

Last night was the Padres’ third walk-off win in six games, and all three were decided by extra-base hits that drove in multiple runs. According to OptaSTATS, they are the first team to accomplish that since the 1975 Cincinnati Reds did it three times in five games.

What was amazing about last night’s rare comeback was that it was not all that amazing. At least not in how it was constructed.

The plate appearances the Padres took in the ninth inning were the type of plate appearances they have been taking most of the season.

It began with Manny Machado walking.

Look, if we’re still talking about Machado’s prolific walks in August, there is a problem. But the man has put together some brilliant bases on balls this season. And last night’s — in which he fouled off a 2-2 slider from Mariners closer Andres Muñoz just below the zone and went on to see seven pitches — set a tone.

“Just knowing the game,” Machado said. “You look up on the scoreboard and we’re down by four. I go up there hacking and hit a home run, it’s not gonna matter. So just trying to do something to work the count.”

That is about how the rest of the Padres approached the inning too.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit  a sacrifice fly on the seventh pitch of his pinch-hit at-bat.

Luis Campusano ripped an 0-2 slider for a double to left-center after missing on two sliders.

“It’s a newer thing for me,” Campusano said. “Just  staying present, not trying to be a hero, but just trying to control what I can. It’s swing decisions. He left the third third one up, and I put a good swing on it.”

Ramón Laureano dropped a single in front of left fielder Randy Arozarena, who was playing back to protect against extra bases.

“You smell how the game is going,” Laureano said. “For me, I just had to see it and hit it, and whatever happens happens.”

Merrill fouled off two sinkers in a row immediately before sending a 2-2 sinker from left-hander Jose A. Ferrer on the outer edge of the plate to the opposite field to drive in the final two runs.

“The last one was a good pitch,” Merrill said, “and just kind of threw the barrel at it.”

And, yes, the Padres also got Gavin Sheets’ 55 mph grounder off the end of his bat and just inside the bag at third base for a double.

“If I can just cue this down the left field line, I think that’s my best chance here,” Sheets joked afterward of his plan going to the plate. “No, we’ll take everyone we can get.”

And they got Ty France’s single hit straight down off the plate and then over the mound.

“I’ve been saying I need to aim better,” France said.

Padres scored five runs in the ninth to walk it off for their seventh win in a row pic.twitter.com/eVsFay2vQu

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 16, 2026

“Tonight it seemed to turn the other way for us against a really good pitcher, and we made him pay,” Sheets said.

Yes, the Padres have been due after what happened to them in their first seven games.

They were 2-5 and last in the major leagues in batting average and OPS on April 3. To that point, they ranked 10th in the majors in hard-hit percentage but third-lowest in batting average on hard-hit balls. Their batting average on balls in play was second-lowest.

“I think that’s just part of baseball kind of coming full-circle,” France said. “Lot of good at-bats hitting right at guys. Then a couple balls sneaking in there.”

They had a lot of players taking a lot of good at-bats when they were 2-5. But they had enough clunkers to ruin what might have been big innings. As the consistency of the quality of their at-bats has increased, so has the volume of their hits.

“There’s this energy we’re not out of it,” Sheets said. “Guys have bought in. We’re having some fun. Whereas, I think sometimes (early in the season) we thought, ‘What’s going to go wrong here?’ it’s ‘What’s going to go right here and who’s going to get the big hit?’”

That can lead to a flow that can continue to run into October.

The season has 144 games remaining. Another 2-5 stretch will follow. Every World Series champion since at least 2000 (except the 2020 Dodgers) has had at least two seven-game stretches in which it lost at least five games.

But when players believe in themselves and each other, when they think about each other and rely on each other, it can lead to developing their identity as a team.

“It doesn’t matter who’s at the plate right now,” Merrill said. “It’s a certain bond we got in here. And I know it’s early, but you can feel that it’s different in here. Everybody wants it, and everybody is going hard after it.”

Had to happen

Merrill would have been a hero last night even if someone else had gotten the walk-off hit.

Because the Padres would have needed an even bigger comeback had he not kept the Mariners’ lead at 2-0 by running back 74 feet, sizing up the portion of the center field wall that juts out diagonally, leaping to get his glove over and behind the eight-foot wall and taking a two-run homer away from Julio Rodriguez in the third inning.

JACKSON MERRILL ROBS JULIO RODRÍGUEZ OF A HOMER! pic.twitter.com/ZMWtLlmhjC

— MLB (@MLB) April 16, 2026

There was some question when Merrill robbed the Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle of a homer on March 27 whether that was the best robbery of his career. Last night, there was no question.

Said Merrill: “100 percent, that’s the best catch I’ve ever made. If it was a foot to the left I couldn’t have gotten it.”

Had to happen II

Last night was the Padres’ fifth comeback victory but the first time they have won when trailing after eight innings.

It doesn’t happen without Alek Jacob, just called up Tuesday for what is supposed to be some temporary coverage in the bullpen, throwing two scoreless innings at the end.

Mason Miller goes viral pretty much every time he pitches. Jason Adam and Adrian Morejón frequently make the headlines. But the former middle reliever who is now the Padres’ manager really likes it when the relievers who don’t often work the high-leverage innings end up being heroes because they kept deficits from becoming worse.

“In my opinion, that’s the sexiest part of the bullpen,” Craig Stammen said. “That’s exactly why we talk about how good our bullpen is, because we feel like anybody that we throw in there can keep the game where it’s at. Especially in these games where we’re down just a little bit, keeps the game where it’s at and gives us a chance to come back.”

Last night, Ron Marinaccio relieved starter Randy Vásquez at the start of the fifth and allowed Luke Raley’s two-run homer while getting through two innings. Wandy Peralta fired a scoreless seventh before Jacob came on for his season debut.

While facing all nine batters in the Mariners’ lineup, he allowed one hit, walked a batter and hit a batter but did not allow a run.

“Guy we just called up from Triple-A,” Stammen said. “It just speaks to the depth that we have in our bullpen.”

And then there is Campy

Campusano was on the top step at the far end of the dugout when Freddy Fermin was hit square in the mask by a foul ball off the bat of Brendan Donovan.

“It wasn’t like one of those where I had to sit and wait to see if, like, he was going to be all right,” Campusano said. “It was like, get ready. He had some already in the past leading into that one.”

Fermin was removed from the game, and Stammen said afterward testing for a concussion was negative. Fermin, who has taken mask-rattling shots fairly frequently this season, was joking and talking with teammates after the game. Still, the Padres may have Triple-A catcher Rodolfo Duran on standby today.

“Head injuries can change pretty quickly and even overnight,” Stammen said. “So we’ll have to see how he feels the rest of the night, what he feels when he wakes up, what kind of sleep he gets and then reevaluate him tomorrow. … So as far as the way we stand right now, he’s OK to probably get in there tomorrow if we need him.”

Campusano is scheduled to catch tonight for Walker Buehler, as he has in all three of his starts.

Campusano’s single in the ninth extended his hitting streak to a career-high seven games.

One of the previous games in the streak was last Thursday against the Rockies when he entered to catch in the 10th after Fermin had been lifted for a pinch-hitter. Campusano then lined a two-out double that tied the game in the 11th before Xander Bogaerts’ 12th-inning walk-off grand slam.

The next night, Campusano doubled and homered in a game the Padres won on Sheets’ walk-off homer.

“There’s no three walk-offs without Campy,” Sheets said. “… He hasn’t been the guy that has gotten them done, but he’s been the guy that has made them happen.”

I wrote in the next morning’s newsletter that Campusano’s double last Thursday might have been the biggest takeaway from that game, given what it could do for his confidence.

Remember, the hit that began this streak ended an 0-for-35 stretch that dated to late in the 2024 season.

Now, it is as plain as the gigantic smile he wears a lot of the time to see how different he is in virtually every aspect on the field and in the clubhouse this season.

“This is the guy we were looking for,” said hitting instructor Raul Padron, who worked with Campusano at Triple-A the past three seasons. “He’s getting that confidence, that trust. That’s the guy we need right there.”

Tidbits

• You can read Jeff Sanders’ story (here) from yesterday on Nick Pivetta’s diagnosis and prognosis after an MRI on his ailing right elbow.
• Xander Bogaerts’ two-run homer, which provided the Padres’ first runs last night, was his third in his past seven games (28 at-bats). He is 15-for-35 (.429) with 10 RBIs over his past nine games.
• Tatis’ sacrifice fly was hit off the bat at 101.9 mph. Of the past 19 balls he has put in play, 15 have had an exit velocity in excess of 100 mph. His 28 balls in play at 100 mph or harder this season are three more than any other player in the major leagues.
• Merrill has three hits (two doubles) and a walk in his past six plate appearances against left-handers. He was 2-for-10 with a walk before that.
• The Padres are averaging 6.1 runs a game over their past 10 games and have scored fewer than four runs once in that span. They averaged three runs a game and scored more than three runs just once in their first eight games.
• Laureano is tied with Washington’s James Wood for 15th in the National League with a .921 OPS. Laureano is 10-for-25 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs over his past seven games.
• Sheets had a double he actually hit hard last night, as well, and he is tied for third in the NL with seven doubles.
• This is the Padres’ first series win against the Mariners since 2021.
• The Padres have won four consecutive series since losing the first two series of the season.
• Just to keep it real, we should note that not everyone is raking. Jake Cronenworth is hitless in his past 14 at-bats. Nick Castellanos has one hit in his past 17 at-bats. Here is a look at the Padres with batting averages below the Mendoza Line:

All right, that’s it for me.

Talk to you tomorrow.

(Yes, I came back a day early. But how could I not?)