SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — The San Diego Padres built a big lead, survived a grand slam and escaped a bases-loaded scare in the ninth inning to beat the San Francisco Giants 7-5 on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, at Oracle Park. The game drew 38,381 and took 3 hours, 2 minutes. San Diego improved to 79-68 and won its fifth straight game. San Francisco dropped to 62-86. The Padres maintained a half-game edge in the National League Wild Card race, holding off the Arizona Diamondbacks, who beat Texas on Friday, while continuing to chase the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. Those teams occupy the fourth and fifth seeds in the NL and sit 2 1/2 games ahead of San Diego.

The Padres finished with 12 hits, while the Giants had six. San Diego did its early damage in the second and third innings. In the first, Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out swinging, Jake Cronenworth walked, Manny Machado flew out to left and Luis Campusano struck out swinging. The Padres broke through in the second. Jackson Merrill hit a ground-rule double down the left-field line. Xander Bogaerts was called out on strikes, and Samad Taylor lined out to center. Dustin Harris then singled to left to score Merrill. Freddy Fermin followed with a double to center that scored Harris and gave San Diego a 2-1 lead.

The Padres broke the game open in the third. Cronenworth singled to right, Machado grounded out to move him to second, and Campusano doubled to left to score Cronenworth. Merrill singled to left to put runners at the corners. Bogaerts doubled to left, scoring Campusano and Merrill. Harris tripled to right, scoring Bogaerts. Fermin doubled to left, scoring Harris. Tatis walked, and Cronenworth flew out to left, but San Diego had built a 7-1 lead after three innings. The Padres added hits later but could not score again. Merrill singled in the sixth, and Tatis tripled in the eighth, but San Diego left him stranded.

San Francisco had taken an early lead in the first. Jonah Cox singled to right, Devers popped out to third, and Eldridge singled to center to score Cox. Osleivis Basabe walked, but Turner Hill struck out swinging and Shay Whitcomb lined out to center. The Giants stayed quiet until the fifth, when they mounted a sudden rally against Robbie Ray. Andrew Knizner doubled to left, Christian Koss walked and Cox walked to load the bases. Devers then hit a grand slam to right field, his 36th home run of the season, scoring Knizner, Koss and Cox. The blast trimmed San Diego’s lead to 7-5 and turned a comfortable margin into a tense contest. Ray finished with five innings, four hits, five earned runs and five strikeouts. He still earned the win and improved to 12-8. Anthony Molina took the loss and fell to 3-1.

San Diego’s bullpen protected the lead from there. Yuki Matsui pitched a scoreless sixth. Adrian Morejon struck out two in a scoreless seventh. Bradgley Rodriguez allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth while striking out two. The trio combined to allow one hit over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, setting up closer Mason Miller. Miller got two quick outs in the ninth before walking pinch-hitter Nate Furman. Cox then dropped down a bunt single, and Miller walked Devers to load the bases. The tying and winning runs were on base. Miller responded by striking out Eldridge with a 102.8 mph fastball at the knees, ending the game and securing his 35th save. Miller pitched one inning, allowed one hit, struck out two and did not allow an earned run. Earlier in the ninth, Jung Hoo Lee flew out to left and Drew Cavanaugh struck out swinging.

The Giants received a strong relief effort from Yunior Marte, who pitched five scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out four. Rafael Devers went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Mason Miller pitched one inning, allowed one hit, struck out two and did not allow an earned run. Freddy Fermin went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Dustin Harris went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Adrian Morejon pitched one inning with no hits, no earned runs and two strikeouts. Yuki Matsui worked one inning with no hits and no earned runs. Bradgley Rodriguez pitched one inning with one hit, no earned runs and two strikeouts. Robbie Ray allowed four hits and five earned runs over five innings with five strikeouts. Philip Abner delivered one inning with no hits and no earned runs for San Francisco. San Francisco also got a double from Bryce Eldridge and a double from Andrew Knizner, but the Giants could not string together enough late hits against the Padres’ bullpen.

The victory continued a strong stretch for San Diego, which had won four straight entering the series opener. The Padres had swept a three-game set against Washington before taking the first game against San Francisco. The Giants had won three straight against St. Louis before Friday. San Diego and San Francisco will continue their series Saturday and Sunday at Oracle Park. The Padres then travel to Colorado for four games, while the Giants head to St. Louis for three. San Diego has won six of the first 10 meetings between the teams this season. The Padres remain in the middle of a crowded National League Wild Card chase, with Philadelphia and Chicago just ahead and Arizona close behind.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 6-5 San Diego victory. Interstat’s ELO system gave San Diego a 59 percent probability to win. San Diego was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 12 went under the over/under line of 7.5.