Tigers defeat Padres again, score four runs in eighth inning
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San Diego – You wondered if or when it was going to catch up to the Padres. It had to, right?
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Going into the eighth inning Friday, their pitchers walked four and hit another. And still they clung to a 2-1 lead.
Then in the eighth, reliever Jeremiah Estrada walked the bases loaded with one out. An infield hit by Riley Greene, who was having a rough night, scored the tying run.
With two outs, rookie Kevin McGonigle made them pay for real.
In an incredible 10-pitch fight with veteran lefty Wandy Peralta, he lashed a two-run single to right field and Dillon Dingler followed with another RBI single and the Tigers grinded out a 5-2 win at Petco Park.
McGonigle, who had a home run stolen by centerfielder Jackson Merrill in the second inning, fouled off five pitches, four were inside and a fifth was a slider away. After taking a changeup in the dirt for ball three, he put the barrel on a sinker that was up and over the plate.
KEVIN McGONIGLE IS BUILT FOR THIS. pic.twitter.com/qDivZmhufv
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 28, 2026
Impressive stuff from a 21-year-old in his second big-league game. He's been on base six times in nine plate appearances.
The Tigers' rebuilt bullpen locked it down from there. Enmanuel De Jesus and Kyle Finnegan each struck out two in scoreless innings and the game's active saves leader Kenley Jansen, in his Tigers' debut, earned his 477th career save, striking out the side on 11 pitches in the ninth.
It was all frustration and missed opportunities before the breakthrough.
The Tigers faced a couple of buzzsaw pitchers. First, it was right-hander Michael King, who bullied them with sneaky-fast four-seamers and sinkers. He allowed one hit and struck out six in five innings, though he did walk four and hit another.
The best swing came from McGonigle, who lashed a two-strike sinker, one with 16-inches of horizontal movement, 403 feet to center field. The ball was going to clear the 396-foot wall but Jackson Merrill raced back, timed his leap perfectly and stole what would’ve been McGonigle’s first big-league home run.
In the fifth inning, King walked McGonigle and hit Dingler. But the inning quickly fizzled out, ending with Kerry Carpenter striking out for the third time in the game and the fifth time in eight plate appearances this season.
King walked Gleyber Torres (three walks on the night) to start the sixth. It was his last batter and it would lead to the only run on his ledger.
The Padres summoned flame-throwing lefty Adrian Morejon, whose sinker was hitting 100 mph.
After an error by third baseman Manny Machado put runners again on first and second with no outs, Greene bounced into a double-play for the second time in the game.
But Spencer Torkelson bailed him out, ripping a two-strike single to left to score Torres and tie the game at 1-1.
Too bad Framber Valdez wasn’t around for the eventual breakthrough.
In his Tigers’ debut, he stymied the Padres offense but for one inning. The fourth. Machado led off with a two-strike double into the left-field corner.
Merrill followed with an infield single, a ground ball to the left and off the glove of third baseman McGonigle. Inches from being a double-play ball. Miguel Andujar followed with a ground ball over the bag at first. Torkelson made a diving stop on it but Andujar beat Valdez to first base.
Machado scored on the play and the Padres still had runners at the corners and one out. But Valdez shut it down.
Javier Baez made a strong play on a high chopper to throw out Merrill at home plate and Valdez struck out Jake Cronenworth on three pitches.
After a clean, eight-pitch fifth, and after the Tigers had finally tied the game, Valdez issued a one-out walk to Merrill in the sixth. With two outs, Merrill stumbled trying to steal second.
Catcher Dingler had him dead to rights but his throw sailed into right field.
That set the table for tie-breaking double by Ramon Laureano. Laureano had just missed a home run in the fourth inning and he was on every pitch Valdez threw him in the sixth, finally lashing a meaty sinker over Carpenter’s head in right.
Still, it was a quality start for Valdez. He allowed just the one earned run in six innings, with three of the seven hits against him infield hits. He struck out five.
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers start 2-0 with another win over San Diego Padres