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Padres Notes: Magic Number Shrinks, Ethan Salas Makes Insane History, Mason Miller Crowns Teammate

Catch up on all the latest Padres news and notes.
Gabe Smallson|
Sep 13, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Ethan Salas (8) reacts at third base after hitting a triple against San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
Sep 13, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres catcher Ethan Salas (8) reacts at third base after hitting a triple against San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-3, on Wednesday evening and improved to 83-69 on the year. The magic number for San Diego is now seven, meaning they need a combination of seven wins or losses by the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose comeback against the Miami Marlins fell short on Wednesday.

Robbie Ray struck out six and allowed three earned runs across six innings of work. David Morgan allowed one hit and struck out two across two relief innings and Yuki Matsui walked two and struck out a batter to finish out the game.

Offensively, there was quite a lot to discuss. Dustin Harris, Jake Cronenworth and Samad Taylor each had two-hit nights while Jackson Merrill collected three. The night belonged to Ethan Salas, however, who not only collected career home run No. 1 in the second inning (a 426-foot behemoth), but slugged his second career long ball in the fifth inning, a 372-foot two-run shot.

With the second blast, Salas — at just 20 years and 107 days old — became the youngest catcher in MLB history to have a multi-home run game.

The last five players to have this kind of game at an age younger than Salas are Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.

Salas noted that the success he has been seeing at the plate after such a long offensive drought to start his MLB career has helped him settle in and feel less like an outsider trying to carve a spot out for himself on the roster.

“Kind of feels like I’m playing now,” Salas said after the game, “instead of just like being a part of the team just watching. It always feels good to put your two cents into the win. And just after the triple, everything kind of loosened up a little bit. And thankfully, today was a good day.”

When this list was brought to his attention, Salas did his best to put this absurd night into context of what the reality is: he is someone Not yet of legal age to purchase alcohol playing a sport at the highest level.

"I'm just a kid playing baseball, man," Salas said. "So it's pretty crazy to be in company with such high-caliber guys like that."

Finally, right-hander Mason Miller spoke on who he believes is not only the most valuable pitcher in the Padres' bullpen, but any bullpen in MLB. He gave a glowing review about his co-star and noted his preparation and mentality being major factors in his success.

“There are so many guys that have really good stuff in this game, but the reason he’s able to throw so often and so many innings is obviously what he does to prepare for the games, but also his ability to go after guys, strike guys out if he needs to," Miller said.

Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Padres' Mason Miller Crowns Teammate as 'Most Valuable Reliever' in MLB

Experts Overwhelmingly Agree on Padres' Role in 2026 Postseason

Padres Reinforcing Clear Message to Top Prospect Ethan Salas

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Gabe Smallson
GABE SMALLSON

Gabe Smallson is a sportswriter based in Los Angeles with a focus in sports and entertainment content. Gabe has previously worked at Newsweek and Dodgers Nation. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2020 and received his Masters of Science at the University of Southern California in 2025.

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