San Diego Padres' Late-Inning Dominance Reaches Historic Heights After Latest Win
By staging another comeback against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, the San Diego Padres continued to dominate their opponents after the sixth inning.
The San Diego Padres staged another electric comeback against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, and they made baseball history in the process.
Entering the sixth inning, San Diego trailed 7-3. Then, after a solo home run from first baseman Jake Cronenworth, an RBI groundout from second baseman Xander Bogaerts and a two-run home run from right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres had erased the deficit.
Center fielder Jackson Merill put the game away with a solo homer in the top of the 11th, securing an 8-7 win for San Diego.
The result was nothing new for the Padres, who have enjoyed similar stretches of late-game dominance all week long.
On Wednesday, San Diego held a 4-2 lead over the Chicago Cubs heading into the sixth inning, but led 10-2 when they recorded the final out. On Monday, the Padres overcame an 8-0 deficit by scoring seven runs in the sixth and two in the eighth to win 9-8.
Even on Tuesday, when they lost 5-1 to the Cubs, they were the only team to score in the last third of the contest.
The Padres have outscored their opponents 21-0 in the sixth inning or later over their last four games. They have also hit eight home runs in the late innings, all while giving up zero.
According to OptaSTATS, no team in MLB history had ever outscored their opponents 20-0 or better, nor had they outhhomered them 8-0 or better, in the sixth inning or later over a four-game span. San Diego has now achieved that feat, creating a club of one in the baseball history books.
The Padres and Dodgers will continue their three-game set in Los Angeles on Saturday. First pitch for game two is cheduled for 9:10 p.m. ET.
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