The lead changed hands four times at Petco Park on Saturday, and it was Ty France who had the final say. His solo home run to left in the sixth inning, a 377-foot shot that broke a 7-7 tie, gave the San Diego Padres an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays before 40,561 fans. Mason Miller worked a scoreless ninth — striking out two — to record his 24th save of the season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| SD | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 8 | 1 |
France finished 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, 1 home run, and 2 RBI. He also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The go-ahead blast was the defining swing of a game that never stayed settled for long. Vladimir Guerrero was the standout on the Toronto side, going 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI, but his three-run shot in the sixth — which tied the game at 7-7 — was answered immediately by France's response.
The game's back-and-forth character was established early. San Diego scored twice in the first, with Fernando Tatis scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Gavin Sheets and Merrill crossing on France's sacrifice fly. Toronto answered with 4 runs in the second: Alejandro Kirk's double scored Kazuma Okamoto, Varsho came around on a groundout by Giménez to tie it, and then Jonatan Clase's two-run homer to right — 375 feet — put the Blue Jays ahead 4-2. San Diego immediately responded in the bottom half, as Manny Machado's single to center brought home both Merrill and Sung-Mun Song to tie it at 4-4. Song's single to center in the third scored France and Cronenworth to put the Padres back in front, and Cronenworth's single in the fourth made it 7-4. Then Guerrero's three-run homer in the sixth erased that lead entirely, setting the stage for France.
Both starters were gone before the third inning. Walker Buehler lasted just 2.0 innings for San Diego, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks on 65 pitches. Toronto's Trey Yesavage was even shorter, exiting after 1.2 innings with 4 runs allowed on 7 walks and 59 pitches. The game fell to the bullpens, and it was San Diego's that held. Bradgley Rodriguez earned the win, his second of the season, with a 2.23 ERA. Mason Fluharty took the loss — his first of the season — allowing 1 run in 2.0 innings, with a 4.54 ERA.
San Diego improved to 47-48. Toronto fell to 45-50.