Offense shows life, Padres head into first rubber match of the season

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 04: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres is greeted in the dugout after scoring off a single hit by Ramón Laureano #5 (not pictured) in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 04, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images Yesterday’s game saw this San Diego Padres club do something it hasn’t shown yet this season: fight.

After having a 2-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox for most of the game (in large part due to Randy Vásquez’s sheer force of will), Adrian Morejon came in to pitch the eighth inning. He had hoped to put his struggles from Wednesday’s outing behind him (he did not). His command struggled, and he gave up back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners.

He got a big strikeout against Trevor Story before getting Andruw Monasterio to ground out. Unfortunately, what would have been an inning-ending double play got botched on a low throw from Morejon to Jake Cronenworth. Luckily, the bleeding stopped there, with Morejon able to strike out Willson Contreras to get into the ninth.

But then there’s a problem. San Diego still had to face one of the most dominant relievers in baseball in Aroldis Chapman. Chapman got two quick outs before Fernando Tatis Jr.