It would be hard to start a homestand in a more dramatic fashion than the San Diego Padres’ Xander Bogaerts did Thursday night.
The veteran shortstop hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift the Padres to a 7-3 win over the Colorado Rockies in the opener of the teams’ four-game series.
Bogaerts and host San Diego will aim for an encore on Friday night when they try to secure their sixth win in the past seven games.
“It’s huge, you know? I just tried to get a good swing on it, and it was probably my best swing of the year,” Bogaerts said of the team’s first walk-off slam since Manny Machado did it to the Texas Rangers in August 2020.
The Padres spent much of Thursday night scuffling offensively against what lately has been a good Colorado pitching staff. They managed just five hits in the first nine innings before taking advantage of the automatic runner to score six runs in extra frames.
That included Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th and Luis Campusano’s two-out RBI double in the 11th that extended the game, giving Bogaerts a chance to be the hero an inning later.
“Those guys are playing good ball, and we battled all night,” Bogaerts said. “Man, what a way to start a homestand.”
One byproduct of a 12-inning game is that both teams could use length from their starting pitchers on Friday. San Diego right-hander Walker Buehler (0-1, 9.45 ERA) hasn’t yet provided that, failing to make it past the fourth inning in his first two outings.
He lasted only 2 2/3 innings Sunday during the team’s 8-6 win in Boston, giving up four runs and three hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Buehler is 7-4 with a 4.71 ERA in 23 career games (19 starts) against the Rockies.
Colorado will counter with right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (1-0, 1.69 ERA), who’s coming off a 4-1 win Sunday against Philadelphia. Sugano sailed through six innings, allowing four hits and a run while walking one and striking out five. This will be his first career start against the Padres.
The Rockies might be without catcher Hunter Goodman, their one All-Star last year, after he sustained lacerations on his right middle finger when he was hit by a 95 mph fastball from Randy Vasquez in the sixth inning Thursday night.
Goodman tried to stay in the game and run but walked off the field after seeing blood dripping off his finger. Manager Warren Schaeffer said X-rays were negative and hopes Goodman won’t miss much playing time.
Still, the Rockies have shown definite signs of improvement after a dreadful 2025. Their lineup appears deeper than last year, and the pitching staff has looked more than viable against some good lineups early.
Goodman credited Schaeffer for the early turnaround, which included a four-game winning streak before the loss on Thursday.
“The vibe’s totally switched,” Goodman said. “The energy that (Schaeffer) brings every day just rubs off on us.”
–Field Level Media
