Pinch-runner Tyler Wade scores winning run in 11th
SAN DIEGO — Call it a walk-off if you must. But “walk” is not exactly the best description of Tyler Wade’s game-winning dash to the plate on Monday night.
The speedy do-everything bench piece scampered home with the winning run in the 11th inning of the Padres’ tense 4-3 victory over the Marlins at Petco Park. Wade entered the game a few pitches earlier as a pinch-runner — a prescient move by manager Mike Shildt.
Manny Machado tied the game in the eighth inning with a solo home run, then began the 11th inning of a still-tied game as the automatic runner at second base. When he advanced to third on Gavin Sheets’ groundout, Shildt called for Wade.
Marlins reliever Cade Gibson bounced a breaking pitch in the dirt with a 1-2 count, and Wade took off with minimal hesitation. He dove headfirst into the plate, as Gibson swiped his tag a split-second too early. The ball caromed off his glove and bounced away, and the Padres had their first extra-innings win in four tries this season — and their first walk-off wild pitch since a June 2022 victory over the Rockies.
“You’re just reading it, and you’re trusting your instincts,” Wade said. “I was going on contact, right? So it doesn’t really matter where he hit it. I was just trying to really hone in on a spot in the zone, just get a dirt-ball read like that.”
But in Shildt’s eyes, this was a numbers game. Given the higher likelihood of scoring with an automatic runner in extras, Machado was unlikely to come to the plate again. At that point, it was about gaining even the slightest of edges.
“It gets to be a little bit of a speed play,” Shildt said. “But again, Manny is such a good baserunner. I talked to Manny, he said, ‘I’d score on that.’ And he probably does. But, yeah, it’s just a chance to get Wadey in. He’s really, really good — and he’s really particularly good at reading balls like that.”
So … would Machado have scored?
“Already done it,” he said with a smirk.
Nonetheless, Machado contributed plenty to Monday’s victory — the Padres’ third in four games after a recent six-game losing streak. He made an outstanding diving play in the second inning, when the Padres trailed by three. Then, his game-tying drive in the eighth was his third home run in four games — after he hit just three across his first 48 games of the season.
“It was going to be there at the end of the day,” Machado said of his power. “It was just a matter of making good contact. I’ve been making good contact. … That’s just how baseball is sometimes. It definitely does feel good that they’re going out of the ballpark now.”
That’s not to say Machado was struggling — he was hitting .305 entering the weekend series in Atlanta. He just hadn’t quite tapped into that power yet.
He has now. The underlying numbers always indicated that he would. Machado was hitting the ball hard but wasn’t quite elevating it like he has throughout his career. He insisted nothing had changed, he was just taking what he was being given by opposing pitchers and the power would come. He wasn’t wrong.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” Machado said. “You’re just going to know that that’s how it is.”
Machado’s home run ensured a brilliant effort from the San Diego bullpen would not go to waste. Starter Randy Vásquez allowed three runs over the first two innings but settled in to retire 13 of the final 14 hitters he faced, as he completed 6 1/3 quality innings.
From there, five Padres relievers pitched scoreless ball — including the newly recalled David Morgan in his MLB debut. Morgan faced two Marlins hitters in the eighth, inducing a lineout and popout. All three of his fastballs clocked at 99 mph.
The Padres’ bullpen continued to pitch scoreless ball, even with an automatic runner in the 10th and 11th, setting the stage for Wade’s sprint-off. Wade has carved a niche for himself on this Padres team because of his ability to play just about anywhere, fill just about any role.
“I was just ready,” Wade said.
As he always seems to be.
