Padres’ early gap-power barrage holds up against Rafael Devers’ grand slam in 7-5 win over Giants

A one-run deficit, then a rush of doubles

San Francisco struck first, and briefly it looked like the game might belong to the home side’s middle of the order. Jonah Cox reached base and came home on Bryce Eldridge’s single to center in the first inning, a neat early edge for a Giants lineup that would spend much of the night trying to rediscover that rhythm. It did not last, because the Padres answered with a very different kind of offense: not one big swing, but wave after wave of hard contact into the gaps.

The comeback began in the second. Jackson Merrill, who finished 3-for-5, was the first runner pushed around the bases when Dustin Harris singled him home. Harris kept showing up at the center of the game, and Freddy Fermin immediately turned his trip into another run with a double to center. By then the Padres had flipped a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead, and the larger problem for the Giants was already visible. San Diego was not waiting around for a homer; it was building a night out of line drives and extra bases.

The third inning broke it open. Jake Cronenworth scored on Luis Campusano’s double, Campusano and Merrill both came home on Xander Bogaerts’ double to left, Harris tripled in Bogaerts, and Fermin doubled again to plate Harris. In the span of one inning, the Padres turned a close game into a 7-1 lead. Anthony Molina’s line told the story from the Giants’ side: 3.0 innings, 9 hits, 7 earned runs. San Diego finished with five doubles and two triples, and that detail matters. This was not random traffic. It was repeated, damaging contact that kept moving runners without the luxury of a home run.

Devers changed the mood with one swing

The Giants’ response arrived all at once in the fifth. Rafael Devers sent a 388-foot drive to right, bringing home Andrew Knizner, Christian Koss and Cox with him. Just like that, a game that had tilted heavily toward San Diego was back within reach at 7-5. Devers finished with one hit, but it was the loudest event of the night for San Francisco, accounting for four of the club’s five runs. Robbie Ray still completed 5.0 innings and got the decision on the winning side, but his outing never fully settled: five earned runs, four walks and 94 pitches meant the Padres had to treat the final four innings seriously.

They did. Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Bradgley Rodriguez and Mason Miller combined for 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while striking out six. Morejon and Rodriguez each struck out two in clean work, and Miller navigated two walks in the ninth without letting the tying run score. That relief work deserves equal billing with the early offense, because the Padres did not add on after the third inning. The Giants’ bullpen made sure of that. Yunior Marte gave San Francisco 5.0 scoreless innings after Molina’s difficult start, and Philip Abner closed the last inning cleanly. For six innings, the score stayed frozen at 7-5, which gave the game its late tension even after the Padres’ explosive beginning.

Our take: San Diego found enough answers, but both clubs left lessons behind

What stands out most about the Padres’ win is how many parts of the lineup contributed to it. Harris drove in two runs and scored twice. Fermin doubled twice and drove in two more. Merrill scored twice and collected three hits. Campusano and Bogaerts each supplied an RBI double in the decisive third inning. That is a satisfying shape to a road win because it was not carried by one star alone, and because it came without a home run. San Diego created seven runs from pressure, extra-base accuracy and enough baserunners to keep the Giants pitching staff under stress.

There is still an obvious caution inside the victory. A 7-1 lead became a 7-5 game because the Padres’ pitching gave San Francisco too many openings, especially through Ray’s four walks, and because the lineup went quiet after the third. San Diego finished with 12 hits and four walks, yet never found the insurance run that would have removed the suspense. That does not erase the quality of the first three innings, but it does suggest a reasonable area for improvement: a little cleaner strike-throwing with a big lead, and a little more late conversion once an opponent’s starter is out of the game.

For the Giants, the split-screen result is plain. The encouraging side was the fight back, led by Devers’ grand slam and reinforced by Marte’s five scoreless innings of relief. The costly side was the opening stretch, when Molina was hit hard and the Padres piled up seven runs before the game was halfway old. San Francisco also needed more contact from the bottom and supporting cast. Outside of Cox, Eldridge, Devers and Knizner, the Giants did not record a hit. That left one swing to do nearly all the rescue work. If there is a practical takeaway for the Giants, it is not complicated: contain the extra-base damage earlier and create more traffic around Devers, because one thunderous homer was enough to change the mood, but not enough to erase the first three innings.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Inning

   Eldridge singled to center, Cox scored.

2. 2nd Inning

   Harris singled to left, Merrill scored.

3. 2nd Inning

   Fermin doubled to center, Harris scored.

4. 3rd Inning

   Campusano doubled to left, Cronenworth scored.

5. 3rd Inning

   Bogaerts doubled to left, Campusano scored and Merrill scored.

6. 3rd Inning

   Harris tripled to right, Bogaerts scored.

7. 3rd Inning

   Fermin doubled to left, Harris scored.

8. 5th Inning

   Devers homered to right (388 feet), Knizner scored, Koss scored and Cox scored.