The Padres got an injection of offense from an unlikely source Wednesday, lifting them to a 7-1 win to claim their series with the Reds.
Brett Sullivan got the Padres on the board in the bottom of the second. The reserve catcher doubled to right, plating Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim to put the home team ahead 2-0.
Two innings later Sullivan doubled the Padres' lead and his own RBI total with a 380 foot home run to right field. The two-run blast was the first of his MLB career.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
The 29-year-old from Stockton played his first season within the Padres organization in 2022, appearing in 113 games for El Paso. His opportunity with the Padres came when Luis Campusano suffered a sprained thumb in April.
Cincinnati got one back in the sixth inning when Spencer Steer sent a solo homer just over the fence in left field. It was the lone blemish of the day for Padres' starter Seth Lugo, who threw six innings allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out five.
Juan Soto put the game out of reach in the sixth inning. The All-Star outfielder ripped a bases-clearing double to right field, giving the Padres a 7-1 cushion.
Local
A strange situation arose in the fifth inning. On Monday Xander Bogaerts set a Padres record, reaching base in the club's first 30 games of the season. The All-Star shortstop was back in the lineup Wednesday after a day off. Juan Soto led off the inning with a walk, before what appeared to be a Bogaerts single to right field.
That's when things took a bizarre turn.
Soto crossed second base, before retreating - thinking right fielder Stuart Fairchild made a diving catch on Bogaerts' line drive. According to MLB rule 7.08(e) the force play is reinstated when a baserunner heads back towards the base they previously occupied. The Reds touched second for the force, turning Bogaerts' effort from a single to a fielders choice.
Bogaerts failed to reach in the sixth inning, with a pop fly to shortstop. He got back to the plate in the eighth, but struck out - ending his historic on-base streak.
The Padres are 9-4 in their last 13 games, heading into their first meeting of the season with the Dodgers. After an off day Thursday the rematch of last year's NLDS begins Friday at Petco Park.
