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Baseball fans for all teams tend to get tunnel vision during the season. We focus so much on the good and bad with our own team that we forget that many other fan bases are experiencing the same ups and downs. With a 24-16 record and an offense that ranks in the bottom five in multiple categories, the San Diego Padres remain in first place in the National League West with the latest loss by the Evil Empire to the North.

It would be hard to find a Padres fan that feels sorry for the Los Angeles Dodgers or their fans, far from it. The standard stats, as well as the advanced stats, tell you that there is no way this Padres team should be sitting atop any division in MLB. Those stats make it easy to focus on what is wrong with this team. The fact they are doing enough things right to maintain a winning record, and squeak out late rallies to win games, is easy to ignore many days.

Playing in San Francisco against the Giants, the Padres took 2-of-3, scoring 10 runs in the second game. They squeaked out a win in the third game with late heroics and lost a close first game after only getting three hits.

Coming home to play a four-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Padres lost the first two games. The second loss was memorable for rookie JJ Wetherholt’s Little League grand slam which came off an error by Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres were one-hit in that contest while being shutout.

The final two games were again close affairs with more late-inning heroics to come back and win in the 10th inning of the series finale. They ended up with a winning week despite getting only 14 hits combined in the four games against the Cardinals and three hits in the first Giants game. The offensive outbreaks are welcome but rare.

Offensive futility

With a record that ranks fifth in MLB, the Padres’ .223 batting average ranks 28th in baseball. Their .667 OPS is 27th while their OBP of .297 is 28th. The slugging percentage barely climbs out of the lower five at 24th, sitting at .370.

Manny Machado summed it up best in his post-game interview after the series finale versus the Cardinals. “Yeah, we need to hit, I mean, you know, look, it’s obvious. We’re not hitting. It’s obvious, but we’re getting things done, man.”

They have a problem with starting pitchers. Starters mostly look like Cy Young early in games. Opposing starters have thrown 20 quality starts against the Padres (five innings or more, three runs or less) over their 40 games. The Padres starters have put them in holes for a few of those games, but the real issue is that they average less than three runs in the first six innings of games. That ranks 24th in MLB, and just seven of those pitchers have an ERA under 4.00.

Jackson Merrill batting leadoff

Centerfielder Jackson Merrill is the latest player to shoulder the responsibilities of the Padres’ lead-off hitter. After Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano both had opportunities, Merrill has had the job beginning the second game of the Giants series. Over those six games, his OBP is .387 versus his .303 OBP over the season. He is chasing less and seems to be focusing more on longer at-bats. Six of his 15 walks this season have come while leading off.

Mason Miller and Craig Stammen

In the Saturday win against the Cardinals, Mason Miller was needed in the eighth inning to get the last out after Adrian Morejon was unable to finish it off. Miller came back out in the ninth inning to finish his 12th (MLB leading) save of the 2026 season. It was not easy.

Miller struggled with fastball command and walked two while also unleashing a wild pitch. As a result, it took four outs to get the save, and he got those on four strikeouts. The third strikeout was the wild pitch, and Cardinals pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo reached first base safely when Freddy Fermin couldn’t corral it. Miller struck out Wetherholt for the last out.

Miller became the latest Padres pitcher to need four outs to get out of an inning. The last one before him?

Craig Stammen in 2021 while pitching in relief for the Padres.

Nick Castellanos finds his groove

The Padres signed Nick Castellanos during Spring Training after the Philadelphia Phillies released him. He is being paid league minimum ($780,000) by San Diego, with the Phillies paying the bulk of his $20 million salary. His role with the team has been to provide a bat off the bench and relieve regulars in need of rest. Castellanos does not have a good defensive position. Even during his best years, his defensive metrics have been subpar in any position he has played. This is the first time in his career that he has played this infrequently, and it has required adjustments on his part.

That makes what he did on Sunday against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien all the more notable. His line for the season so far, .192/.231/.329 in 73 at-bats, does not induce confidence. His home run in the ninth inning of that game tied the score and gave the Padres a chance to come from behind, yet again, for the win.

He even broke his bat and had to borrow one from Tatis Jr., after the 1-2 pitch, to complete his at-bat. Presumably, it was the same bat Tatis used for his longest out of the game, a 395-foot drive with an exit velocity of 106 mph that was caught at the wall.

Castellanos fought off sinkers clocked at 98 mph and sweepers that hugged the corners of the plate over his nine-pitch at-bat. After going down 0-2 with the first two pitches, Castellanos took a ball and then fouled off two more close pitches before taking two more balls to get to a full count. He fouled off another sinker then launched the last sinker over the left field wall to tie the game.

Castellanos has not hesitated to explain how this adjustment has been a challenge for him. “When I’ve been at my best is when, like, you just kind of fall into autopilot with the season and there’s not a lot of thinking that is involved. You wake up, you know what lies ahead. So learning how to navigate not knowing what your day is going to look like or what’s gonna be asked of you is an adjustment.”

Walker Buehler finds some rhythm

Starter Walker Buehler had his best start as a Padre against the Cardinals on Sunday. He went six innings on three hits and no walks allowed. His one mistake was an elevated pitch that traveled to the top balcony of the Western Metal Building, and that followed a single hit by the batter before. Buehler threw 17 first-pitch strikes to the 21 batters he faced and used all seven of his pitches, including a 95-mph fastball.

Lucas Giolito update

RHP Lucas Giolito made what could be his last start in the minor leagues on Sunday for the San Antonio Missions. Over six innings and 74 pitches, Giolito allowed three hits and one run with three strikeouts in his best outing in the minors. It was his fourth start, and he must be activated by Saturday per his contract. It is possible he could see action with the Padres this week against Seattle. When Giolito is activated, the Padres will need to make a roster decision regarding one of their other pitchers. With Germán Márquez already on the injured list, there is another tough choice to be made.

Injury updates and roster changes

Starter Joe Musgrove was moved to the 60-day IL to accommodate the promotion of catcher Rodolfo Durán to the Padres. Duran was needed when Luis Campusano fouled a pitch off his toe and was unable to play, being placed on the 10-day IL on May 7.

RHP Jhony Brito was sent to the ACL Padres to begin his rehab from the UCL surgery last year.

Infielder Will Wagner was activated off the injured list and assigned to the El Paso Chihuahuas.

Reliever Yuki Matsui was activated off the IL and reliever Kyle Hart was optioned to El Paso.

IF Sung-Mun Song was promoted to the Padres when 2B Jake Cronenworth was placed on the 7-day injured list with Concussion symptoms.

Note: This story was written prior to the results of the series opener between the Padres and Brewers on Tuesday.

It was quite the MLB debut for Mets top prospect A.J. Ewing, helping ignite the team to a 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

Ewing filled the box score, going 1-for-2 with a triple, three walks, two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base. His energy was present from the start and he even became the first player in Mets franchise history to triple in their debut.

The 21-year-old walked in his first plate appearance on seven pitches with runners on first and second base and one out. The walk paid off as New York was able to add a run on a groundout. And it was that plate discipline that impressed manager Carlos Mendoza the most, even saying Ewing was "pretty much perfect at the plate" in his first big league game.

"Pretty impressive," Mendoza said. "From the very beginning, the first at-bat, the quality of the at-bat, the takes, not panicking, just under control. He got ahead and was still able to take pitches close to the strike zone. And just the way he was taking them. There was rhythm; he's on time. Pretty good idea. Obviously, something that we've seen in the past, the way he controls the strike zone.

"But man, he was pretty much perfect at the plate today and it was just good to see that."

Ewing flied out in his second at-bat, but then walked again in the bottom of the sixth inning and stole second base to get the team going. It was just the spark New York needed, as they'd go on to score three runs in the frame and take a 6-2 lead. 

Mendoza continued to compliment Ewing's strike zone discipline and his ability to stay "under control" at the plate, something not too common for young players, let alone those playing in their first game.

"Yeah, I don't think you see that right out the gate," Mendoza said. "You see that from players coming up through the system and you know they have pretty good understanding of the strike zone. But not until you get here and the quality of the pitching, obviously. You're going to be jumpy at times. 

"Today, he was just under control from the very beginning. Like I said, it's pretty impressive. Didn't give up any at-bats away, that's the other thing. And it's the 3-1 takes with runners in scoring position, not trying to do too much, like it's just under control. And you don't see that from players when they first get to the league."

To Ewing, that's just who he is as a player.

"I just think that's kind of part of my identity as a hitter," Ewing said. "I'm patient, I see a lot of pitches, and I make pitchers work hard."

It took the former fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft until his fourth at-bat to get his first hit, but the wait was worth it. Ewing tripled down the right field line in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Brett Baty from first base, putting the Mets up 7-2. He added that it "was pretty cool" that he started both Triple-A and the majors with a triple.

That type of energy was exactly what the team had been needing. And while it could be what helps the Mets turn things around this season, Mendoza isn't putting the weight of it on the rookie's shoulders.

"We're going to need him and everyone in that room, it's not fair to put it just on him," Mendoza said. "The fact that he's able to keep the line moving, give you quality at-bats. With him right now hitting at the bottom of the order, the more we can turn that lineup over, we're going to have chances to score runs. Like I said, we're going to need him and everyone in there."

Ewing added on providing a spark: "I think energy's always great, but I'm just here to play baseball and do my job and that's just be the player I am."

He and the Mets will keep taking it day by day as they look to get out of the bottom of the standings. But for now, Ewing is taking it all in and said the best part of his debut was being part of the "great atmosphere."

"Probably the win at the end, but just looking around when I got on first base for the first time. That was when it kind of hit," Ewing said.

The Atlanta Braves announced a series of roster moves on Tuesday, and most notably, Sean Murphy is headed to the injured list with a fractured finger. Though he was just placed on the 10-day IL, skipper Walt Weiss said his time out would surpass the 10-day period and likely be around eight weeks. 

Murphy suffered the injury during a play against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was just his fourth game back after previously rehabbing a hip injury, continuing what has been an injury-plagued season for the Braves backstop.

The club also announced that catcher Sandy León signed a major league deal, OF José Azócar was selected to the major league roster, and INF Jim Jarvis was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

More Braves News:

Mike Yastrzemski was the star of the show in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. 

Here’s everything you need to know from the first quarter of Braves ticket sales and real estate revenue. 

MLB News:

The New York Yankees placed infielder Jose Caballero on the 10-day injured list with a finger fracture. In a corresponding move, the club recalled shortstop Anthony Volpe. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired center fielder Alek Thomas from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for a minor league outfielder. The Diamondbacks designated Thomas for assignment last week. 

The Philadelphia Phillies signed outfielder Dylan Carlson to a minor league deal. Carlson was previously on a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs but was recently released. 

From the Feed:

The Braves paid special tribute to Ted Turner and Bobby Cox ahead of Tuesday’s contest.

The Braves limited the Cubs to just one hit on Tuesday; cast your vote here for Braves Player of the Game.

Anthony Volpe returned to the Yankees roster Tuesday after the team placed Jose Caballero on the IL with a fractured finger, but what seemed inevitable before the season started wasn't the case. 

The young shortstop underwent offseason shoulder surgery that delayed his 2026 season, but after his rehab assignment was complete, the Yankees decided to keep Volpe in the minors. The decision was made a little easier thanks to Caballero's hot start to the season. 

But now that Volpe is back in the Yankees clubhouse, he's ready to get his year started. 

"Feels good to be back, see everyone and I’m ready to go," Volpe said after the Yankees' win over the Orioles. "Ready to get going. This is my start. Took a lot to get back here. Now that I’m here, I’m ready to go and take it from here."

Volpe was not in the starting lineup Tuesday as he was still en route to Baltimore when his call-up was made official, but he'll likely get the start in Wednesday's series finale. 

He'll look to show off some of the tools that made him the Yankees' top prospect and a promising young big leaguer. He'll definitely want to flush his offensive numbers in the minors this season. In 18 games between Double-A and Triple-A, Volpe is batting .221 with an OPS of .570 to go along with one home run, two doubles and eight RBI. 

Along with the emergence of Caballero, Volpe's paltry offensive numbers during rehab didn't help his case to return. The 25-year-old understands the business and is ready to move forward.

"What’s happened has happened," he said. "I put a lot of work to feel this good and come back, and go and help this team. I’ve been able to process, do everything and it’s just back to work. We have a really good club. It feels great to be back. Just take it from here on out." 

Volpe said it meant a lot that his teammates, including Aaron Judge, reached out to him during this time and that he's more motivated now that he's back. 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday's game that Caballero will be the starting shortstop when he returns from the IL, which Caballero said he only plans to be out for the maximum 10 days. Volpe was asked whether he feels he has an opportunity to change the organization's mind about him starting, the shortstop smiled before answering.

"If I learned anything out of all this, there are things I can’t control and things I can," Volpe said. "We have a game tomorrow and that’s what I’m focused on. Throughout this whole thing, it’s been day to day, how to get better, how to improve and that’s what I’m focused on."

Last season was arguably Volpe's worst as a pro. He batted .212 with an OPS of .663, and although his power numbers rose from the previous year, his OBP (.272) and stolen bases (18) were career lows. Not to mention his career-high 19 errors in the field. 

For some reason, I’m not anywhere near as angry as I should be after another loss in which the Red Sox lineup looked like it was reenacting something out of the Deadball Era. Tonight, some of the highlights lowlights included:

• Batting Mickey Gasper – A 30-year-old with a career .495 OPS – second in the lineup.
• The bats lasting a grand totals of just 16 pitches at the plate over the first three innings.
• The team once again failing to generate the hit they desperately needed late in the contest as the tying run was stranded in scoring position in each of the final three innings.
• Scoring two runs or fewer for the tenth time in the last 14 games at Fenway Park.

But do you know what surprised me the most about tonight? The Red Sox almost won. On paper, this game should have been a rocking chair victory for Philadelphia, and instead the game ended with a drama filled ninth inning where, less surprisingly, the Red Sox bats failed to deliver once again. But just under the surface of another pitiful night at the plate were signs that this Red Sox team might be on the verge of turning a corner. They include:

• Brayan Bello pitching well again in the bulk role
• On a night with no Roman Anthony or Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu came up in a big spot in the seventh inning, worked an eight pitch at bat, and hit a ball that would have been a home run in 29 of the 30 ballparks. The result sucked, but that had all the makings of a game changing moment.
• The defense once again looked as solid as ever and kept the listless offense in the game.
• Marcelo Mayer smoked a ball 106mph with the tying run on third to end the seventh inning.

Perhaps it’s just that Happiness = Reality – Expectations, and my expectations were so low for this game that I was somewhat shielded from another letdown. However, I’m also getting this overwhelming sense that the Red Sox pitching and defense is legit. If they’re turning a Brayan Bello bulk game against one of the hotter teams in the sport into a 2-1 affair against a guy like Zack Wheeler when the lineup is missing key pieces, that’s actually not the worst result in the world when you isolate it out from the waterfall of garbage performances we’ve seen at Fenway this season.

Ultimately, this Red Sox season is going to come down to the pitching and defense being able to outlast the offense being this historically feckless. Maybe they won’t, and they certainly didn’t tonight, but part of the reason it’s this noticeable is because they’re wasting plenty of good outings, and if they’re going to start getting those from Brayan Bello in addition to Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, games like tonight are eventually going to start flipping in the other direction.

Three Studs

Brayan Bello: 6.1 innings of one run ball out of the bulk role. A huge step in the right direction.

Wilyer Abreu: Went just 1-4, but looked good defensively again, and came within a few feet of having one of the best at bats of the whole season.

Zack Kelly: Threw up a scoreless top of the ninth and gave the bats one last chance when they were starting to show signs of waking up.

Three Duds

Jarren Duran: 0-4 from the top of the lineup with two strikeouts. He’s hitting .189 on the season.

Jovani Moran: Started the game to face the lefties at the top of the Phillies lineup before Bello came in for the bulk role and gave up a solo blast to Kyle Schwarber.

Caleb Durbin: But more specifically, the decision not to have Caleb Durbin bunt when he came up in the eighth inning. We know Durbin’s in there for his glove, and when Carlos Narvaez led off the top of the eighth with a single, it was the perfect opportunity to move him over to second with the top of the lineup coming up. Instead, Durbin flew out to center field as part of his 0-3 night at the plate.

Bonus Dud

The NESN cameraman: Below we’re going to see the play of the game we’ve referenced a few times already, and the camera angle here is going to make it look like we’re watching the space shuttle take off instead of a warning track fly ball to end an eight pitch Wilyer Abreu at bat.

Play of the game:

Death, taxes, and the Tampa Bay Rays defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in the year 2026.

Drake’s 15th project, Iceman, is set to debut May 15, and Shane McClanahan sure had Blue Jays bats frozen Tuesday evening in “The 6ix”, as McClanahan went five innings, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out seven.

That 97 MPH fastball was the final pitch of his outing and also extended his career-long scoreless innings streak to 21.2, and his season ERA down to 2.27. ‘Sugar Shane’ might be back, folks.

As far as the run support, the Rays jumped on Blue Jays southpaw Patrick Corbin early.

In the first inning, Jonathan Aranda singled, followed by a Junior Caminero single, and Jonny DeLuca driving in Aranda with a two out RBI double. 1-0 Flappy Boys.

In the third inning, Caminero singled, Ben Williamson doubled, and Cedric Mullins delivered with two outs with a two-run single of his own to give the Rays a 3-0 lead.

In the sixth, Taylor Walls scored on a wild pitch from Tommy Nance, and in the seventh, ‘The Rig’ Ryan Vilade homered to extend the lead to 5-0.

Once we got to the bottom half of the seventh, things got scary.

Toronto would not only bat around, but tie the game to make it 5-5.

The bullpen would hold them there, and the game went to extras.

Cedric Mullins would act as the ghost runner in the 10th, and Taylor Walls would drive him in via, you guessed it, a single.

And who else but Aranda to drive him in vis the sacrifice fly to give the Rays the lead.

Garrett Cleavinger entered in the bottom of the 10th to shut the door for good, as Toronto would score once more. Andres Gimenez grounded out to Junior Caminero, who had two errors on the evening, to end the game 7-6.

Tampa Bay is now 19-3 against the American League, and remains the top dog in the junior circuit.

The Rays and Jays will do it again from Rogers Centre on Wednesday, cumulating a stretch of 13 games straight, starting at 7:07 PM EST.

All Shohei Ohtani needed to snap his two-week home run drought?

How about Ice Cube in the broadcast booth.

On Tuesday night, the Dodgers did a stadium-wide Ice Cube bobblehead giveaway, featuring the LA entertainment icon in a Dodger blue low-rider along with the team’s last two World Series championship trophies.

To honor the occasion, Ice Cube was on hand –– throwing out the first pitch, announcing the traditional “It’s Time for Dodger Baseball” call before the start of the game, then joining the team’s television broadcast on SportsNet LA in the bottom of the third inning.

It was while Ice Cube was on the air that Ohtani came to the plate and went deep for the first time since April 26, and only the second time in his last 109 plate appearances.

Shohei Ohtani hadn’t homered since April 26th but Ice Cube showed up so that changed pic.twitter.com/0dZK9K19iW

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 13, 2026

As Ohtani’s drive sailed out to left-center field, Ice Cube injected excitedly on the TV call.

“Yes! There we go. Yeah, yeah!” he said. “Couldn’t have scripted it better.”

Before the blast, Ice Cube was in the middle of a discussion with Joe Davis and Orel Hershisher about his life-long Dodgers fandom, and role as the team’s unofficial hype man during their back-to-back World Series titles.

Over the last two years, he’s been part of plenty of memorable moments at Chavez Ravine, including a pregame concert during the 2024 World Series, more live performances at their championship parades, and opening day ceremonies in which he drove a blue low-rider onto the field to deliver the Commissioner’s Trophies to the team –– which inspired Tuesday’s bobblehead design.

“This is one of the craziest things that ever happened to me,” he said. “I love the Dodgers. I love being a fan. I like to just fan out … And then to be asked to be a part of it, against the Yankees, it was next level. I’ve just been on Cloud 9 ever since, for two years straight.”

That continued when Ohtani went deep, leading Davis and Hershiser to lay out so he could analyze the replay of Ohtnai’s swing.

“He smacks this thing, goes yard, the man,” Ice Cube said of Ohtani. “How great is it to be a Dodger fan right now, to see that.”

Timely hitting and some clutch home runs helped propel the White Sox (20-21) to their third straight win, defeating the Royals (19-23), 6-5. Four of the seven South Side hits were for extra bases, with three dingers and a double, including two clutch bombs that both took the lead at different points in the game. The pitching struggled early, but the offense carried its weight by keeping the Good Guys in the contest until the bullpen established itself late in the game, with the final two arms not giving up a hit.

While it definitely wasn’t his best outing, Erick Fedde mostly did his job, eating five innings for the Good Guys, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts. In today’s game thread, I referenced how Fedde has been making a habit of surrendering home runs, and naturally, he gave up two more in tonight’s start: a solo shot each for Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Pérez in the top of the first, 2-0.

The South Siders chased a two-run lead for the first four frames, but Fedde was able to settle in a bit after the round-trippers, hoping the offense would wake up. The Sox finally had an opportunity after loading the bases in the bottom of the third, with a base hit from Sam Antonacci starting things off, followed by back-to-back walks from Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas. After four straight balls, Colson Montgomery came up to the plate in a prime situation, but he struck out on pitches that almost certainly would have been balls. Why he was even remotely considering swinging after so many balls in a row is beyond me — just one of those at-bats.

Finally coming alive in the fifth, the South Side bats posted a five-spot, first tying, then taking a three-run advantage to turn the game on its head. Drew Romo cut the lead in half after mashing his fourth home run since being called up, possessing a 1.092 OPS while holding a batting average below .200 (.192). Romo struck out for the rest of his at-bats, so perhaps the average makes sense.

To keep the inning rolling, Antonacci drove a double out to center to pick up his second hit and put the game-tying run into scoring position. As he already had a hot bat, Vargas was set up perfectly to drive him in with a base hit and tie the game up at two. Vargas has driven in at least one run in his last three games and has seven RBIs this month after accumulating nine in the entire month of April.

Mune struck out to bring Colson up, who put together a much better at-bat than earlier in the game and worked a base on balls to put another runner on. That brought up Chase Meidroth, who blasted his third bomb of the season into the White Sox bullpen, putting the Good Guys up, 5-2.

So quickly after taking the lead, the White Sox imploded once Fedde was replaced by lefthander Tyler Schweitzer, who only made it through one out before giving up two runs to bring the Royals back within one, 5-4. In the blink of an eye, the win fizzled out before Fedde’s eyes. Will Venable decided to go with Grant Taylor a bit earlier than expected. Unfortunately, the one hit he allowed in the final 2/3 of the inning was the tying run, also charged to Schweitzer, before striking out Witt to end the inning.

Taylor made it a nail-biter returning in the seventh, giving up back-to-back singles to start the frame, but struck out both Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone before forcing a ground out to end the inning. Despite having to clean up Schweitzer’s mess, he was still assigned a blown save. Seranthony Domínguez is typically more of a ninth-inning kind of guy, but he was turned to in the eighth as the Good Guys worked to keep the game tied at five. Three-up, three-down for Domínguez was exactly what the Sox needed to get the bat back in their hands.

Even if you were given 10 guesses to predict who won the game for Chicago, you probably wouldn’t get it because it was a pinch-hit, go-ahead blast from Derek Hill to put the South Siders up one, 6-5. The best part was that the pitch was below the strike zone, but Hill muscled it enough to clear the left-center wall and put the ball into the bleachers.

Out for the ninth was southpaw Bryan Hudson, who has been nothing short of excellent in his 21 appearances (20 innings) this season. Hudson wrangled the Royals for a 1-2-3 inning to earn his second save of the year, but not without a little more help from Derek Hill, who made a diving catch out in right to rob a clutch hit from Witt. Hudson has maintained a sub-1.00 ERA (0.90), and tonight’s save also secured the W for Seranthony.

Wednesday is Noah Schultz Day. The lefty will be going against righthander Seth Lugo. We’ve got another night game tomorrow, so join us at the same time and place — 6:40 p.m. CT — to watch some quality baseball and hopefully get the club to .500.

On the night where Christian Yelich returned to the lineup, one of the biggest punching bags of the offense had the big performance.

Joey Ortiz has taken a lot of heat this year from fans for his slow start at the plate. Understandably so, Ortiz entered Tuesday’s game with a .181 average, a .443 OPS, and a 27 OPS+. He had just one extra-base hit on the season.

That changed on Tuesday night at American Family Field as Ortiz secured the first Brewers hit of the night and their first run in one swing, lifting a 395 foot home run to left. That’s his first home run since July 19th, 2025.

“In the cages before the game, I was watching William (Contreras) and I was like ‘I wanna be like William today’ and it worked out so maybe I’ll do that tomorrow, too.” Ortiz said. “I went in there, fooled around with William a little bit and it actually (made me) lock in, so it’s funny how it happens.”

“The whole team was so excited for him. That was one of the neat things of today, was to see how the team reacted to him hitting one. I mean, it was like a walk off” Pat Murphy said

The Padres answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth on a 2 RBI single up the middle by Nick Castellanos.

The Brewers then punched right back in the fourth inning, sending 10 men to the plate. It all started on a William Contreras one out double off the top of the wall in right field. Then Jake Bauers walked and Garrett Mitchell lined a single to center to load the bases for Sal Frelick.

Frelick then hit a 60.6 MPH dribbling ground ball through the left side of the infield, with the shortstop Xander Bogaerts playing up the middle, he wasn’t even close enough to get to that baseball, allowing two runs to score on a ball that barely made it 10 feet into the outfield grass.

David Hamilton then followed with a bunt single and was able to reach because Matt Waldron looked to third base right away with no one there and couldn’t make the throw to first in time to get the speedy Hamilton. That meant Joey Ortiz was up again, this time with the bases loaded.

Ortiz lifted the first pitch he saw high and deep into centerfield, the crowd erupted, thinking Ortiz had just homered again, but it fell short at the warning track and Ortiz had to settle for a sac fly.

Brice Turang kept the inning going with a 2 RBI double to make it a 6-2 ballgame and Jackson Chourio supplied an infield single that chased Waldron from the game.

The Brewers continued to just hold on after that with the offense falling fairly silent against the Padres bullpen. San Diego got a home run from Miguel Andujar in the 6th, and an RBI double from Andujar again in the 8th.

Brandon Sproat was very good tonight, striking out four Padres in the first two innings and ending up with six strikeouts on the night, tying his season-high. He was pulled after 5.1 IP with 3 earned runs as he seemed to be running out of gas in that sixth inning.

“We were hoping, like hey look we got a nice lead here. Go out there, you can get it done. But then he hung a breaking ball, and then made another pitch down the middle. His stuff was going down, you could see the difference in the stuff. We want to try to work through that and still make pitches. It doesn’t mean just because your fastball is 97 to 95 to 94, it doesn’t mean you can’t be effective. We were hoping he could” Pat Murphy said.

Sproat gets his first MLB win in his 12th career game (10th start), which led to his first career beer shower from the team.

“It got my eyes a little burned, but my hair kind of felt soft after, so I might start using that as shampoo.” Sproat joked after the game.

Shane Drohan got him out of the 6th inning, Bullpen Chad Patrick made an appearance, butting together a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Pat Murphy said pre-game that they have some decisions to make with Patrick and his role in the starting rotation, but that he likes how Patrick has pitched out of the bullpen. After that, it was the back-end of the bullpen 1-2 punch of Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe to slam the door and secure the Brewers fifth straight win.

Joey Ortiz finished the night 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, one of his best games in a while. The offense certainly looked more potent with Yelich in the lineup, especially in that 4th inning, even though Yelich finished the night 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.