Arraez Powers Padres Past Marlins with Late-Inning Heroics

In a thrilling contest, Luis Arraez delivered a pivotal performance, driving in both the tying and go-ahead runs as the San Diego Padres overcame a daunting six-run deficit to defeat the Miami Marlins 8-6 on Tuesday night. The game was marked by a series of blunders from Marlins rookie second baseman Ronny Simón, whose three errors proved costly.

Initially, Simón was credited with a fourth error, but the official scorer later revised the play to a single by Xander Bogaerts. Miami surged ahead early, sending 10 batters to the plate in the first inning against Stephen Kolek (3-1), who managed to secure the win after pitching 5 1/3 innings.

The Padres ignited their comeback with Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 13th home run, a leadoff shot that sailed over the right-field fence off pitcher Max Meyer. Simón's troubles began in the second inning when he misplayed a grounder from Tyler Wade, allowing an RBI single that rolled into foul territory. His errant throw then allowed another run to cross the plate.

San Diego narrowed the gap to 6-5 in the third inning, thanks to Bogaerts' run-scoring single—originally ruled an error as it slipped under Simón's glove—and a sacrifice fly from Jake Cronenworth. The fourth inning saw more misfortune for Simón; after allowing Wade to reach base, he misfired on a throw attempting to force Wade at second, leading to another error. Arraez capitalized on this mistake, tying the game with a single.

Simón was replaced in the bottom of the fifth as Javier Sanoja shifted from shortstop, with Otto Lopez taking over at short and in the batting order. Cronenworth's leadoff single in the fifth set the stage for Arraez's decisive two-out single to center, which brought home the go-ahead run.

Arraez, who was traded to the Padres from Miami on May 4, 2024, continued to make an impact throughout the game. Jackson Merrill added insurance with his fifth home run in the eighth inning. Jeremiah Estrada secured a four-out save, marking his first of the season, while Cade Gibson (0-3) took the loss for Miami.

Tatis' leadoff homer was his fourth of the season and 15th of his career, just sneaking inside the foul pole. Remarkably, this marked only the second time in franchise history that the Padres rallied from a 6-0 deficit after the first inning to clinch a victory.

Looking ahead, Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-7, 8.04) and Padres LHP Kyle Hart (2-2, 6.00) are set to face off in the series finale on Wednesday.