Padres visit struggling Guardians in bid for seventh straight win

The San Diego Padres' offense struggled to rally after trailing in games earlier this season, but those days seem like a distant memory now.

The Padres will aim for their seventh straight win when they continue a three-game series against the host Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night.

San Diego fell behind 3-0 after three innings on Friday before storming back to win for the 16th time in its last 20 games. Xander Bogaerts sparked the victory with a two-run homer in the fourth inning against Gavin Williams.

"We were down early, they had their ace on the mound, and we didn't back down," Bogaerts said. "That homer by me kind of ignited us a little bit, and then the other guys kept getting on base and getting hits."

Fernando Tatis Jr. added a solo homer and Luis Campusano drove in three runs for San Diego, which holds the second wild-card spot in the National League.

Tatis has eight extra-base hits in the last 10 games and has homered five times in the last nine.

Padres manager Craig Stammen said Friday's game was another example of the team's ability to rally from an early deficit.

"We've kind of done that here lately," he said. "We've given up runs, and then we've gotten a big homer, which makes us feel like we're back in the game. And then we've played really good baseball after that."

With Padres closer Mason Miller given an off day on Friday, Bradgley Rodriguez retired three batters in a row following Brayan Rocchio's leadoff double in the ninth for his first career save.

While San Diego is playing its best baseball of the season, Cleveland has lost five of its last six games and 16 of its last 21.

"We've been through times like this before," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "It's no different. We just have to keep working. I really thought our guys competed well (Friday). I thought we finished the game well. You want to score more runs than them to win the game, obviously, but I was really pleased with the way we played tonight."

One bright spot for Cleveland has been rookie shortstop Angel Genao, who is 10-for-31 (.323) with a home run in his first nine games since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus.

"I've been really impressed with Angel since he's been here," Vogt said. "Just his presence. It feels like he's not big-eyed."

Left-hander Joey Cantillo (8-7, 3.91 ERA) will start for the Guardians on Saturday. He allowed one run over one inning in his team's 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday in a start that was cut short by a lengthy rain delay.

Cantillo, 26, has a 132-to-56 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 25 starts this season covering 119 2/3 innings.

He will make his second career appearance against San Diego. Cantillo allowed three runs (one earned) in two innings of relief against the Padres on April 1, 2025, getting a no-decision in Cleveland's 7-0 loss.

San Diego has not announced its starting pitcher for Saturday.

--Field Level Media