The game was scoreless for seven innings before San Diego broke through with a decisive eighth-inning rally to defeat Los Angeles 4-1 at Angel Stadium on Friday night.
Yusei Kikuchi dominated through six innings for the Angels, allowing just four hits while striking out eight batters. The left-hander carried a 5.63 ERA into the game but held San Diego scoreless before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
The Padres struck first in the eighth when Ramon Laureano singled to center, scoring Freddy Fermin to break the deadlock. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with an RBI single to right that brought home Jake Cronenworth, extending the lead to 2-0. Los Angeles answered immediately in the bottom half when Nolan Schanuel singled to center, scoring Logan O'Hoppe to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Ryan Zeferjahn struggled in relief for the Angels, allowing three hits and two runs in just one inning of work. His ERA now sits at 6.10 after taking the loss. German Marquez pitched effectively for San Diego through 5.2 innings, allowing two hits and striking out five before Adrian Morejon earned the victory with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
San Diego added insurance runs in the ninth as Laureano hit a sacrifice fly to score Bryce Johnson, and Tatis Jr. delivered his second RBI single of the game. The Padres improved to 13-7 while the Angels fell to 11-10. Morejon is six games away from 200 career appearances, while Kikuchi sits two wins shy of 50 career victories.