Mexico is Padres territory!
The San Francisco Giants tried and even led for seven and a half innings, but San Diego had a better finish and won 6-4, taking the series at the Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City.
It's true that the 11 home runs from Saturday weren't repeated (only three from San Francisco and one from San Diego yesterday), but the high-scoring games continued, with nine hits for the Giants and ten for the Padres.
Matt Carpenter was the hero of the game, going 2-for-4 and driving in the two runs that meant the comeback for the Padres in the eighth inning; Juan Soto, with two hits and an RBI, and Aaron Nola, with a home run and two RBIs, also played their part in sealing the Mexican series.
Reliever Luis Garcia was credited with the victory, working for two innings and striking out two, with the tenth save of the season for Josh Hader. Tyler Rogers took the loss, allowing two earned runs, one hit, one strikeout, and one walk in just one-third of an inning.
Giants wanted revenge
In the first inning, LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a 394-foot home run to right field and opened the scoring in favor of San Francisco. J.D. Davis followed in the second inning with a 382-foot homer in the same direction, bringing the Giants' second run.
The Padres had a slow start and even wasted a triple by Nelson Cruz, who was left stranded at third base because Matt Carpenter struck out and Austin Nola was also struck out.
In the fourth inning, Mitch Haniger hit a 460-foot home run to left field; furthermore, Mike Yastrzemski hit a line drive to center field and drove in Michael Conforto for San Francisco's fourth run. The Giants were determined to get their revenge. But the frontrunners had other plans.
The Padres' resurgence
And although it was not easy for San Diego, they got into the game in the fifth inning. Carpenter reached first base with a line drive and Nola drove him in with a home run to center field for the Padres' first two runs. After a flyout by Trent Grisham, Fernando Tatis Jr. ignited the crowd with a double and score thanks to Juan Soto's ground ball to right field.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the tying run was scored: Soto received a walk and Xander Bogaerts moved him to second base with a line drive. It was Jake Cronenworth's turn, and he made contact with Camilo Doval's sinker and hit a line drive powerful enough to bring Soto home and Bogey to third base.
Carpenter came up to complete the comeback. And almost by luck or miracle, he did it. With a full count and two strikes, the lefty connected with Doval's four-seam fastball and hit a fly ball that seemed like it would be the third out, but the ball hit Yastrzemski's glove and the double brought Bogaerts and Cronenworth home.
The last inning came and Josh Hader came in for the close. In the end, San Francisco couldn't recover: the groundouts by Joey Bart and pinch-hitters Austin Slater and Wilmer Flores secured San Diego's victory.