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Padres Notes: Ty France Leaves Team, Slugger Could Have Surgery, Wild-Card Prediction

Catch up on all the latest Padres news and notes.
Gabe Smallson|
Sep 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25) celebrates after hitting a double during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
Sep 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25) celebrates after hitting a double during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-5, on Friday night and improved to 79-68. It was their fifth win in a row, but with the Arizona Diamondbacks' win on Friday as well, their half-game lead for the final wild-card spot remains the same.

Southpaw Robbie Ray struck out five across five innings of work, but allowed five earned runs — including a grand slam from former teammate Rafael Devers. It was still enough, however, to clinch career-win No. 100 for the two-time All-Star and Cy Young award winner.

Luckily for both Ray and the Padres' playoff chances, the Padres put up seven runs in the two innings prior. Jackson Merrill had a three-hit night while Dustin Harris and Freddy Fermin each recorded two hits and two RBIs apiece.

Ahead of the game, Ty France left the team as he was placed on the Paternity List. He was replaced on the roster by infielder Mason McCoy.

In other news, the Padres may have some bad news regarding Gavin Sheets and his lingering foot injury. Sheets has been out since the end of August, and could be forced to undergo surgery to fully heal the injury.

In better news, MLB experts have overwhelmingly picked the Padres to snatch the final wild-card spot in the National League. ESPN's Jorge Castillo, among a few others, spoke highly of the Friars and their second-half dominance.

"It comes down to the Padres' offense. For most of the season, San Diego's bats were inexplicably muted," Castillo said. "Fernando Tatis Jr. didn't hit his first home run until May 30. Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill weren't producing. The Padres ranked 24th in the majors in wRC+ through July 23. Since then, they're fourth."

Finally, manager Craig Stammen appears to have lost trust with his starting pitchers. The skipper knows perhaps better than anyone the kind of pressure placed on the bullpen this season, with Friday's win being no different. However, it is a whole new ball game in October when it comes to who will take the mound and for how long.

"The current staff that we have, we’re going to manage it the same way that we would a lot of playoff games," he said. "You know, where we’re going to be probably aggressive with taking the starter out of the game and using our bullpen that we feel is a strength of our team.”

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

Padres Slugger Could Undergo Surgery for Lingering Foot Injury

MLB Experts Overwhelmingly Agree on Wild-Card Winner Between Padres, Diamondbacks

Padres Appear to Have Lost Trust in Veteran Starting Pitchers

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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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