Good Morning San Diego: Padres pull away late to open series against A’s with win

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 22: Nick Castellanos #21 of the San Diego Padres celebrates with Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 after hitting a home run against the Athletics during the fifth inning at Petco Park on May 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images It did not look like it was going to be a good day for the San Diego Padres when their starting pitcher, Walker Buehler, allowed two runs in the first inning.

It did not look much better when he allowed the visiting Athletics to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning. But in the end, the Padres were able to tie the game in the fifth, take the lead in the seventh and add three insurance runs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a 7-3 win at Petco Park on Friday night. The Padres displayed their power in the early innings of the game – although none of that came from Fernando Tatis Jr.

– when Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, Nick Castellanos hit a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and Ramon Laureano put the home team in front with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Día de jonrones. pic.

twitter. com/9x7ttjns3l — San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 23, 2026 Jason Adam came out of the bullpen with San Diego leading 4-3 and allowed what looked like a leadoff double on a ball hit to left-center field. Bryce Johnson, who got the start in place of the injured Jackson Merrill , raced into the gap, made a backhand play on the ball and threw a one-hop strike to Sung-Mun Song at second base to throw out Tyler Soderstrom for the first out of the inning.