Padres rookie made the perfect kind of history after walking off Marlins

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Padres rookie made the perfect kind of history after walking off Marlins

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated Sep 20, 2026 9:21 AM ET

San Diego Padres youngster Ethan Salas stole the show on Saturday exactly like Manny Machado did over a decade ago.

Salas came up to the plate as a pinch hitter in a tie game against the Miami Marlins at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. The 20-year-old had a man on third with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning.

All Salas needed was a deep fly ball to drive in the game-winning run, with Jake Cronenworth standing 90 feet away. He did even better by hitting an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a walk-off RBI single.

IT'S TARPS OFF FOR ETHAN SALAS pic.twitter.com/KYoyQJaBY3
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 20, 2026

The game-winning hit made Salas the youngest player to record a walk-off knock since Machado did the same as a rookie with the Baltimore Orioles.

Ethan Salas is the youngest player with a walk-off hit since Manny Machado did in 2012 at 20 years and 69 days old

The youngest player with a pinch-hit walk-off hit in at least the last 50 years. pic.twitter.com/3C42sAUoAb
— Milb Central (@milb_central) September 20, 2026

The Padres are right in the thick of a competitive NL Wild Card race with the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. San Diego was outside the postseason picture a couple of weeks ago, but has since won 13 of its last 15 games to maintain a stranglehold on one of the NL Wild Card spots.

Saturday’s contest was only Salas’ 11th in the majors. He went 0-for-14 in his first six MLB games but has gone 4-for-12 since then — including a clutch hit to secure a Padres win.

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