Diamondbacks split series with Padres after tight finish

Arizona came out aggressively on Thursday night at Petco Park, but missed opportunities and a mid-game Padres surge led to a tough defeat in the series finale. Arizona struck first, showing early energy at the plate. In the third inning, Jose Herrera brought home Jake McCarthy with a sacrifice fly, followed by Corbin Carroll’s deep fly to left that plated Blaze Alexander. The D-Backs took an early 2–0 lead and appeared to be in control.

Fernando Tatis Jr. answered in the bottom of the third with a solo home run off Eduardo Rodríguez, as momentum was shifting. San Diego kept the pressure on, tying the game in the fourth with an RBI groundout by Jake Cronenworth. Rodríguez only lasted four innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits. The Padres took the lead in the fifth after Manny Machado launched a solo homer to left off of Rodriguez. Juan Morillo entered to pitch after Rodriguez was pulled, and Xander Bogaerts followed with an RBI double, giving San Diego a 4–2 lead.

The D-Backs kept fighting, as that has been a theme for the Snakes this season. In the seventh inning, Carroll came around to score on Geraldo Perdomo’s two-out double to right. The bullpen held San Diego scoreless over the final three innings, but the offense couldn’t capitalize late as they were defeated by a score of 4-3 on Thursday night.

Despite the loss, Arizona showed resilience. The D-Backs now sit at fourth in the NL West with a 46-48 record. The Snakes are still within striking distance in the Wild Card race but will need more consistency at the plate to close games like this.