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Padres Rally Late to Defeat Giants 7-5 at Oracle Park

San Diego overcomes a strong start by Anthony Molina as late-inning relief shuts down San Francisco in a seven-run fifth inning.

Briar Keller

September 12, 20262 min read

Sunlit Baseball Field - illustration, Jake Team LLC
MLBFinal
San Diego Padres7
San Francisco Giants5

September 12, 2026

Trailing Enter Final Frame

The San Francisco Giants found themselves in a deep hole entering the bottom of the fifth inning, trailing the visiting San Diego Padres 1-6. Despite a solid outing from starter Anthony Molina, who took the loss for the home team, the Giants could not mount a comeback against a Padres offense that exploded for six runs in the frame.

Molina (3-1) struggled with control and contact early. He pitched three innings but allowed nine hits and seven earned runs while walking four batters and striking out four. His struggles began in the first inning when Eldridge singled to center to score Cox, giving San Diego a 1-0 lead.

The Padres continued to pile on pressure in the second inning. Harris singled to left to score Merrill, making it 2-1. Fermin then doubled to center to bring Harris home, extending the deficit to 3-1.

Third Inning Surge

San Diego’s offense was relentless in the third inning. Campusano doubled to left to score Cronenworth, pushing the score to 4-1. Bogaerts followed with a double to left that scored both Campusano and Merrill, turning the game into a 6-1 contest for the visitors.

Harris tripled to right to drive in Bogaerts, making it 7-1. Fermin doubled again to left to score Harris, bringing the final tally of the third inning to seven runs for San Diego.

Molina was pulled after the third inning. Yunior Marte entered the game and pitched five innings of relief. Marte was effective, allowing only three hits and no earned runs while striking out four batters and issuing two walks. Philip Abner closed out the game for San Francisco in the ninth, pitching one scoreless inning with no hits or walks allowed.

Late Relief Shuts Door

San Diego’s bullpen preserved the lead after Ray exited. Yuki Matsui pitched one inning of hitless relief, striking out one batter and walking none. Adrian Morejon followed with another perfect frame, recording two strikeouts. Bradgley Rodriguez entered in the eighth and struck out two batters while allowing one hit and no walks.

Mason Miller secured the save in the ninth inning. He allowed one hit and walked two batters but struck out two to close out the victory.

Decisive Fifth Inning

The game was effectively sealed in the top of the fifth when Devers homered to right field, a 388-foot shot that scored Knizner, Koss, and Cox. This four-run blast turned a 7-1 deficit into a 7-5 final margin. The Giants managed no further runs after the first inning.

Robbie Ray earned the win for San Diego (12-8), pitching five innings with five hits, five earned runs, four walks, and five strikeouts against his former team.

The victory improved San Diego’s record to 79-68. The Giants fell to 62-86 on the season. The game was played at Oracle Park in front of 38,381 spectators.

Sources

ESPN

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Briar Keller

Briar Keller covers Saratoga high school and area college sports.

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