The Padres did not exactly get to the Reds bullpen as much as the Reds bullpen was given to them on Monday night.
With 18 games remaining in the regular season and a division title and playoff seeding in the balance, the particulars don’t matter.
What does matter is that the Padres took advantage of the circumstances and came back to beat the Reds 4-3 in 10 innings.
The Padres had done nothing most of the night and trailed 3-0 before scoring three times in the sixth inning and winning in the 10th on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s walk-off sacrifice fly.
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“It’s a blast,” Gavin Sheets said. “Every game is extremely important. The crowd knows it, both teams know it. Obviously, these guys are in the hunt as well. And so this is great September baseball.”
As they often have this season, the Padres were able to finagle the final outcome against relief pitchers.
The difference in this game was that recent issues with a blister and a bout of the flu had Reds starting pitcher Nick Lodolo limited in how far he could go Monday.
The left-hander controlled the Padres through five innings as if he had every one of them besides Sheets hypnotized.
The Padres got their first ball out of the infield in the third inning. Sheets, who walked in the second inning and doubled in the fourth, was their only baserunner until Jake Cronenworth’s bunt single with two outs in the fifth inning.
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But the fifth would be the last inning for Lodolo, who had thrown just 78 pitches but was making just his second start in a little more than a month.
So the Padres were into the Reds’ bullpen at the start of the sixth inning. Tatis led off the sixth with a single against Scott Barlow. He stole second base with Luis Arraez up. And after Arraez flied out to left field and Manny Machado struck out, Sheets drove in Tatis with his second double.
After a walk by Ramón Laureano, which prompted a pitching change, Jackson Merrill launched a drive into the gap in right-center field against Brent Suter. The ball caromed off the glove of diving center fielder TJ Friedl to bring in Sheets and Laureano and tie the game, 3-3.
“I think we just strung together good at-bats and just rode out the momentum from there,” said Sheets, who finished 3-for-3 with a walk. “It was just a string of really good at-bats, whether it was Lodolo or the bullpen arms right there. But obviously, (the Reds used) a lot of their bullpen arms tonight, which is great for us.”
After a strikeout by Jose Iglesias stranded Merrill, the Padres turned to the back end of the bullpen after Yu Darvish and Alek Jacob got them to that point.
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Darvish allowed two runs through five innings, the first on Friedl’s leadoff home run and the second on an RBI single by Elly De La Cruz in the third inning.
He was given the chance to get through six innings, but Austin Hays hit a sinker up and in off the front of the lowest balcony on the Western Metal Supply Co. building with one out in the sixth. After retiring the next batter, Darvish was replaced by Jacob, who got the only batter he faced to pop out.
Jeremiah Estrada retired the first two batters in the seventh before yielding a double to No. 9 hitter Matt McLain.
That prompted Padres manager Mike Shildt to go to left-hander Adrian Morejón to face the left-handed-hitting Friedl, who lined out to Tatis in right field.
Mason Miller struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Robert Suarez got a strikeout and two groundouts in the ninth.
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Having done so in just nine pitches, Suarez also was sent back out for the 10th. Tyler Stephenson began the inning with a groundout to shortstop, which kept automatic runner Ke’Bryan Hayes at second base. Suarez then struck out McLain before being lifted for lefty Wandy Peralta, who got Friedl on a flyball out to left field.
Cronenworth began the bottom of the 10th at second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Freddy Fermín, who ended up safe at first when pitcher Nick Martinez’s throw was dropped by first baseman Spencer Steer. Not that it mattered after Tatis lofted a ball deep enough to left-center to easily bring in Cronenworth.
“Freddy’s bunt and Tati’s nice piece of situational hitting, not trying to do too much,” Shildt said. “It was, is a really good baseball game.”
Unlike their previous nine games, which were against losing teams, Monday was also highly significant for the Padres’ opponent.
It was arguably even more important for the Reds, who began Monday tied with the Giants for the first spot on the outside looking in at the NL playoff picture.
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They arrived from Cincinnati after winning the previous two days against the Mets, the team they are chasing for the final NL wild-card spot. With the Mets already having lost again Monday before first pitch at Petco Park, the Reds could have pulled to within three games of playoff position. Instead, they fell a game behind the Giants, who beat the Diamondbacks.
Making the postseason is almost certainly not the issue for the Padres, who sit in the fifth of six playoff spots with a three-game lead over the Mets and six-game advantage over the Giants.
They remain one game behind the Dodgers in the NL West standings. Los Angeles beat the Rockies 3-1 after carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning for the second time in three games.
The Padres gained ground in the wild-card race, as the team directly in front of them (the Cubs) and directly behind them (the Mets) both lost Monday.
Four suspects were behind bars Friday for allegedly beating a man to death two months ago during a fight at Linda Vista Park.
Arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder in connection with the violent death of 59-year-old Ruben Rimorin were Juan Garcia Alavez, 21, Juan Manuel Lopez, 26, Brian Reyes, 20, and Franklin Joseph Tuell, 21, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Rimorin was found gravely injured about 3:45 a.m. Oct. 18 on a sidewalk in the 6800 block of Osler Street, just west of the park, SDPD Lt. Chris Tivanian said. Paramedics tried in vain to revive the victim before pronouncing him dead at the scene.
It remains unclear what sparked the deadly fight.
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The suspects were being held at San Diego Central Jail without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
National City’s Pepper Park can soon expand in size by nearly 50%, thanks to a ruling this week by the California Coastal Commission to approve the National City Balanced Plan.
The approval of the plan at the CCC’s Wednesday meeting, developed by the Port of San Diego, means that not only will the popular park have the ability to increase in size, big changes are coming for commercial, recreation and maritime uses on the National City bayfront.
“We are grateful to the California Coastal Commission for its support of the National City Balanced Plan,” said Danielle Moore, chair of the Board of Port Commissioners. “The progress we have made has been anchored in tireless collaboration with the community, business leaders and, of course, the city of National City. It’s about bringing more recreational opportunities to the bayfront while also streamlining and strengthening maritime operations, and we are eager to bring these projects to life.”
Other components of the balanced plan include:
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Realigning Marina Way to serve as the buffer area between commercial recreation and maritime uses
The closure of Tidelands Avenue between Bay Marina Drive and West 32nd Street, and West 28th Street between Tidelands Avenue and Quay Avenue, around six acres, to increase terminal efficiency by eliminating redundancies
The development of a recreational vehicle park, tent sites, cabins and the “ultimate development of up to two hotels with up to 365 rooms, as well as dry boat storage,” a port statement read
A connector rail project to connect the existing rail and loop track located on the National City Marine Terminal to additional rail car storage spots at the existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe National City Yard east of the National Distribution Center
The Board of Port Commissioners must accept the CCC’s certification, then the port and city can begin the process of completing the above projects.
“I am proud of the work we have done to help create a lasting legacy for National City, the Port of San Diego, and the entire region,” said Port Commissioner GilAnthony Ungab. “Nearly a decade in the making, this plan balances the interests of the community and many other stakeholders, addresses public access, maritime, and recreation uses, and expands waterfront access in my community.”
The National City Bayfront is 273 acres of waterfront land and 167 acres of water, and includes the National City Marine Terminal, Pepper Park, Pier 32 Marina, the Aquatic Center and pieces of public art.
Mayor Todd Gloria announced an initiative Wednesday intended to expand housing options in neighborhoods by integrating small-scale residences such as townhomes, rowhomes and cottages into an area’s existing character.
The Neighborhood Homes for All of Us initiative is also intended to support community land trusts — nonprofit organizations that acquire land to create permanent affordable housing.
“Since Day 1 of my administration, I have been focused on building more homes that San Diegans can actually afford — and getting them built faster,” Gloria said at a news conference Wednesday. “‘Neighborhood Homes for All of Us’ is the latest piece of that puzzle. This innovative program will break down the barriers that have gotten in the way of building the type of housing that I believe is ideal for young families and first-time homebuyers for whom the dream of homeownership has long felt out of reach.”
Around 80% of land zoned for housing in the city is restricted to single-family homes, which continue to increase in price, Gloria said. And a significant portion of new housing being built consists of apartment buildings with primarily studio and one-bedroom units, leaving working-class families fewer and fewer options for homes.
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Neighborhood Homes for All of Us is intended to increase the housing supply and allow community land trusts to keep housing affordable in disadvantaged communities for low- to middle-income families.
“San Diego is an incredible place to raise a family, and more families need the opportunity to do that in San Diego’s existing, highly desirable single-family neighborhoods where their kids can learn and play in a great community,” City Planning Director Heidi Vonblum said. “But today, that comes at a price that is out of reach for too many. Integrating more options for families requires careful and thoughtful planning, with input from existing and future community members across the city, to ensure these new home opportunities for San Diego’s families are built in ways that best enhance and benefit San Diego’s amazing neighborhoods.”
The initiative will roll out in two phases. In the first phase, beginning this week and continuing through next summer, San Diegans can help determine what the neighborhoods can look like. The public will be able to see renderings showing small-scale neighborhood homes within San Diego’s existing communities, along with new regulations that “provide a clear pathway for building these homes,” according to a statement from Gloria’s office.
Phase 1 will also include an open house and ways for the community to provide feedback and concerns.
Phase 2, scheduled for the second half of 2026, will be for city staff to develop regulations allowing for the building of more neighborhood homes in a way informed by the public feedback.
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The initiative is partly funded through a Regional Early Action Planning grant from the San Diego Association of Governments.
