Braves vs Padres Recap: Late surge falls short in 7-6 loss

The Braves rolled into San Diego's Petco Park ready to bounce back. Atlanta had lost three straight games and dropped yesterday's opener 1-0 to the Padres. They were hungry. In the second inning, Rowdy Tellez laced a single through the middle, and boom — Mauricio Dubón and Dominic Smith both scored. Michael Harris II followed with a sharp double to right field, bringing another run home. Matt Olson drew a walk, and Tellez crossed the plate. Just like that, the Braves had four runs without even leaving the second. Griffin Canning, the Padres' starter, was getting shelled. The Atlanta bats were alive and dangerous. You could feel the momentum swinging the Braves' way early on.

San Diego answered back fast. In the bottom of the second, JR Ritchie threw the ball to the Braves, but things got messy. Rodolfo Durán singled, Sung-Mun Song singled, and Fernando Tatis Jr. ripped a double to right. The Padres' bats were crackling too. Samad Taylor reached on an infield single, and a throwing error by shortstop Dubón let two more runs score. Suddenly, San Diego had clawed back to make it 4-5. The game was electric.

The game turned into a back-and-forth battle. In the fourth inning, Ozzie Albies smacked a double to left field off Kyle Hart, bringing Harris II home. The Braves were up 5-4 and looking strong. Then came the fifth inning. Mauricio Dubón stepped up and crushed a hanging fastball from Yuki Matsui. The ball rocketed over the wall to left field, soaring 382 feet. Dubón's solo shot put Atlanta up 6-4. The Braves' bats were rolling, and their pitching seemed solid. But San Diego wasn't done fighting. In the seventh inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. came through big. He swung at a sinker from Carlos Carrasco and sent it flying deep to center field. The ball sailed 410 feet and cleared the wall. Tatis Jr.'s blast tied the game at 6-6. Suddenly, all that Braves momentum was gone.

The game stayed tied through eight innings. Both teams refused to back down. Atlanta and San Diego kept fighting for every pitch, every strike, every out. Then came the tenth inning. The Padres were down to their final chances. Manny Machado stepped into the box and looked for something he could hit. Raisel Iglesias threw a fastball down the middle. Machado made contact and drove it to center field. The ball found open space, and Jackson Merrill raced home from second base. That single run was everything. The Padres won 7-6, earning back-to-back victories and moving to 41-37 on the season. Atlanta fell to 48-31 after losing their fourth straight game. It was a heartbreaker for the Braves, but San Diego showed incredible resilience. They never quit fighting. The Padres' ability to battle back late kept them in playoff contention.