The Padres were on the verge of losing three out of four at home to the Cardinals. In fact, they were down to their final strike with two outs while being shut out and only registering three hits, when on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against closer Riley O'Brien, Nick Castellanos sent a 98 mph sinker over the left field fence for a game-tying two-run homer to send the Friar Faithful into a frenzy. Sunday's finale between the Padres and Cardinals went into extra innings after looking like Jordan Walker's behemoth 2-run blast in the 4th inning would be enough to secure the series win for the Cardinals. In the top of the 10th inning, Jeremiah Estrada struck out the first two batters he faced, but then issued a walk to Masyn Winn. Adrian Morejon then entered the game with two outs and runners on 1st and 2nd to face left-handed batter Nathan Church, but Oli Marmol pinch-hit right-hander Jose Fermin, who popped out to first base to end the inning without pushing a run across, leaving the Padres in position to just drive in the Manfred Man from second base in the bottom of the 10th inning and win the game. With Ramon Laureano beginning the inning in scoring position, Jackson Merrill was intentionally walked. Fernando Tatis Jr. then worked a walk after falling behind 1-2, setting the stage for Manny Machado to drive in the game-winning run with the bases loaded and no outs. Marmol would bring in one of his outfielders to have an extra infielder on defense, but it didn't matter, as Machado hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Laureano to scamper home and complete the comeback. The win, combined with the Dodgers' loss on Sunday tied the two teams for first place atop the NL West. The Padres will enjoy a day off on Monday before facing the Brewers in Milwaukee beginning on Tuesday.
You can watch the Jamul Casino Resort Padres Postgame Show below, with full highlights from the game and Craig Stammen's postgame press conference.
