Petco Park Giveth, Petco Park Taketh: Padres Walk Off, Sox Walk Into a Wall
San Diego used confusion, patience, and a bounce to the outfield grass to turn a Red Sox lead into a stomachache. Series tied. Aspirin not included.
Final: Padres 5, Red Sox 4 (10)
It ended the way too many West Coast nights end for Boston: with the bullpen jogging off while the Padres celebrate like they discovered fire. Ramón Laureano chopped a walk-off single in the 10th to score Xander Bogaerts, and the Sox swallowed a 5–4 loss after clawing back to tie it in the ninth. Boston falls to 65–53; San Diego moves to 65–52. Series even, rubber match today.
The Headline Moments You’ll Pretend Not to Remember
Bogaerts, because of course it was him, smashed a solo homer in the second and later poked a run-scoring single. Then he scored the winner in the 10th, reminding Boston that letting a franchise shortstop leave has lingering side effects. On our side, Roman Anthony’s ground-rule double with two outs in the ninth tied it and gave you just enough hope to make the ending hurt.
Hidden-Ball Theater…That Balked in a Run
The most Padres thing you’ll see all month: Manny Machado tried a hidden-ball trick. It turned into a balk. Jarren Duran basically scored because San Diego reenacted a Little League YouTube tutorial. Credit the Sox for taking the gift; credit Petco Park for doubling as a stage. The official ledger: balk charged, run in, stadium confused. Baseball!
Lucas Giolito’s Fifth Inning: A Masterclass in How to Donate a Lead
Up 3–2 in the fifth, Giolito got two outs…and then walked four straight hitters. Read that again. Four. Straight. Walks. Two runs forced in, game flipped, and a start that began like a business trip ended like a Yelp review. Final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 1 K, 1 HR (Bogaerts). If you’re wondering how to lose a one-run road game without allowing many hits, that’s the blueprint.
Michael King Returns, the Padres’ Bullpen Does the Heavy Lifting
San Diego activated Michael King from the 60-day IL and, on a pitch count, he gave them two innings (2 ER). Then the parade of lefties and mid-90s cutters started: Peralta, Estrada, Morejón, Miller, Suárez, and finally Jason Adam for the W. Total Sox strikeouts: 15. If you felt like every other plate appearance ended with a back-foot slider or a fastball above the letters, that’s because it did.
The Ninth Had Juice…Until It Didn’t
Ceddanne Rafaela reached, Anthony blasted that ground-rule double to tie it at four off Robert Suárez (blown save No. 5), and Fenway East briefly came alive. But the 10th opened with Bogaerts on second and lasted exactly one swing longer than your optimism: Laureano chopped one through, Bogaerts trotted home, and Garrett Whitlock took the loss on a pitch count of one. Jason Adam got the win; Whitlock the L; your coffee the overtime shift.
Duran’s Night: A Sprint and a Lesson
Credit where it’s due: Duran opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single—then immediately got thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Aggression is great; second base still starts 127 feet past first. He later walked and singled again, meaning he basically did everything except steal third and operate the bullpen phone.
Bregman Did His Job. So Did Bogaerts—For Them.
Alex Bregman roped two doubles off King. That should’ve been the headline. Instead, Bogaerts answered with the full revenge-tour kit: the homer, the RBI single, a steal, and the winning run. The “Ex Files” department rarely closes early in San Diego.
Numbers That Explain the Hangover
RISP: Boston 3-for-14. Eleven left on base. That’s a bus.
K’s: Fifteen. That’s not “a lot,” that’s a team-building exercise for Padres relievers.
Free Passes Issued: Eight by Boston pitching, six by San Diego. The game took 3:19 and somehow felt longer.
Attendance: 42,389—many stayed just to enjoy Boston’s 10th-inning cardio.
The Why Behind the Loss (Besides “It’s Baseball”)
Giolito’s control handed San Diego the fifth inning. Walking in two runs with two outs is how one-run losses are born.
Approach vs. spin late. The Sox chased too often once San Diego got past King; Estrada/Miller/Adam lived at the top and bottom of the zone and Boston obliged.
Missed knockout blows. Multiple innings with traffic, very little damage. The scoreboard doesn’t give partial credit for “good swings.”
Big Picture: Still in the Race, Still in Need of a Clean Game
Standings check: Boston sits 3 games behind Toronto in the AL East, very much alive with seven weeks left. The series is 1–1 after Friday’s 10–2 laugher and last night’s stomach punch. You can’t give away outs, hand out bases like Halloween candy, and expect Petco Park to send you a thank-you note. Win the rubber game, fly home, and pretend the fifth inning never happened.
What’s Next
Rubber game today in San Diego. Take the blueprint from Friday—hit the mistakes, don’t make them—and stop gifting baserunners. Also, maybe lay off the high fastball that’s six inches above the letters. It’s not your pitch; it’s their trap.
Box-Score Cliff Notes (Because You’ll Ask)
BOS scoring: Duran RBI single (1st); balk scores Duran, Yoshida FC RBI (3rd); Anthony GR double ties it (9th).
SD scoring: Bogaerts solo HR (2nd); Bogaerts RBI 1B (3rd); two bases-loaded walks (5th); Laureano walk-off RBI single (10th).
Pitching: Giolito 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 BB; bullpen zeros from Matz/Hicks/Chapman before the 10th; Whitlock tagged with the L. Padres’ King returns (2 IP, 2 ER), pen strikes out 14 of the 15 Ks, Adam wins it.
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