Rafael Flores Jr. goes 3-for-5, hits eighth homer

Tatis’s singles were hit 105, 111 and 103 mph. The steal was his 35th in 48 tries. He’s already exceeded his previous career high of 32 from last year. He is hitting .395 with four homers and four steals in 11 games this month.

Pivetta struck out five and got up to 69 pitches in his second start back from the 60-day IL. It looked like he might have been dealing with a leg issue at the end of the outing, but he grinded it out. Assuming that he’s OK, maybe he’ll have a chance to complete five innings in a home start against the Marlins next weekend.

Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez were all unavailable tonight after pitching the previous two days, but Matsui got the job done for his second save in three MLB seasons after 236 in Japan. He’s never really been treated like a high-leverage reliever by the Padres, but he’s sporting a 1.98 ERA in 59 innings this season.

Webb struck out seven, but he gave up eight hits. Six of those came in the first two innings, when the Padres racked up five runs. Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the second off one of the worst pitches Webb has ever thrown, an 84-mph sweeper that was simply put on a tee. Webb dropped to 8-9 with a 4.31 ERA. His highest ERA in any of the previous five seasons was 3.47 in 2024. Webb will face the Dodgers next weekend. He has a 6.17 ERA against them in four starts since the beginning of last year.

Wilkinson the reliever has thus far been a great improvement on Wilkinson the starter. He’s gone 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA in his three starts, but he’s allowed a total of three hits over seven scoreless innings out of the pen.

The 352-foot triple to right at Oracle would have been a homer in five ballparks. It was his first hit in 16 at-bats since he was called up Sept. 1, but he didn’t get a chance to follow it up; the Padres had Freddy Fermin hit for him in the sixth.

Tolle didn’t get the victory, as Erik Miller and Garrett Whitlock combined to give the tying run in the seventh before the Red Sox went back ahead. Tolle, though, was the star today. He fanned four in a row to begin the game, and he went on to limit the Royals to four singles and one walk. His ERA is sitting at 3.02 through 25 starts. He’ll face the Rays next time out.

Chapman walked the first two batters he faced, only to strike out three in a row afterwards. Chapman is tied with David Bednar for fifth in the majors in saves. They’re six behind fellow AL East closer Bryan Baker.

The one run was on a 372-foot homer from Caleb Durbin that would have gone out in only four ballparks. It’s the sixth time in 10 starts that Cameron has allowed one or no runs. The Royals, though, went on to lose 4-1. Cameron remained 9-8 on the season, but the Royals are a rather incredible 0-12 in his no-decisions. He’ll face the Pirates next weekend.

Durbin picked up his 13th homer, his 18th steal and his 13th and 14th HBPs. He’s batting .250/.332/.386, which is a near match from his .256/.334/.387 line in Milwaukee last year.