Padres Erase Four-Run Deficit, Rally Past Twins 7-5 in Seventh
SD def. MIN · August 22, 2026 · Final: Padres 7, Twins 5
San Diego trailed 5-1 after four innings, the Padres' win probability sitting at 5.4% as late as the top of the sixth. Then the bottom of the order started finding gaps.
Minnesota's Luke Keaschall homered to left in the top of the first, and the Twins kept building from there. Brooks Lee and Kaelen Culpepper hit back-to-back shots to left and left-center in the top of the second to push it to 3-0. Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill answered in the bottom half, going deep to center to make it 3-1. But Minnesota extended again — a Kody Clemens single in the top of the third scored Ryan Jeffers, and Luke Keaschall's single in the top of the fourth plated Brooks Lee, leaving San Diego in a 5-1 hole.
The Padres got their first foothold in the bottom of the sixth. Merrill lined a single to center, scoring Jake Cronenworth to cut it to 5-2.
The comeback arrived in the bottom of the seventh. Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth lined a double to left, scoring Freddy Fermin and Fernando Tatis Jr. to pull San Diego within one at 5-4. Then Manny Machado reached on a fielder's choice, and Cronenworth scored on the play to tie it at 5. Two batters later, Padres first baseman Ty France singled to right, and Machado came home to give San Diego its first lead of the night at 6-5.
The Padres added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Fernando Tatis Jr. grounded a single to center, scoring Luis Campusano.
Final: San Diego 7, Minnesota 5.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 4 runs — in the top of the 4th
- Win-probability nadir
- 5.4% (down 4 in the top of the 6th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 7th
- Lead changes
- 1
- Final
- SD 7, MIN 5 — won by 2
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | Luke Keaschall homers (8) on a fly ball to left field. | 1-0 |
| T2 | Brooks Lee homers (19) on a fly ball to left center field. | 2-0 |
| T2 | Kaelen Culpepper homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. | 3-0 |
| B2 | Jackson Merrill homers (20) on a fly ball to center field. | 3-1 |
| T3 | Kody Clemens singles on a line drive to center fielder Jackson Merrill. Ryan Jeffers scores. | 4-1 |
| T4 | Luke Keaschall singles on a line drive to center fielder Jackson Merrill. Brooks Lee scores. Luke Keaschall to 2nd. | 5-1 |
| B6 | Jackson Merrill singles on a line drive to center fielder Byron Buxton. Jake Cronenworth scores. Manny Machado to 2nd. | 5-2 |
| B7 | Jake Cronenworth doubles (9) on a line drive to left fielder Kody Clemens. Freddy Fermin scores. Fernando Tatis Jr. scores. | 5-4 |
| B7 | Manny Machado reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by shortstop Kaelen Culpepper. Jake Cronenworth scores. Manny Machado to 2nd. Missed catch error by third baseman Brooks Lee, assist to shortstop Kaelen Culpepper. | 5-5 |
| B7 | Ty France singles on a line drive to right fielder Luke Keaschall. Manny Machado scores. | 5-6 |
| B8 | Fernando Tatis Jr. singles on a ground ball to center fielder Byron Buxton. Luis Campusano scores. Freddy Fermin to 2nd. | 5-7 |
Box score
▸
Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| SD | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 7 | 10 | 0 |
SDWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Tatis Jr.RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .285 |
| Jake Cronenworth2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | .227 |
| Manny Machado3B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .216 |
| Ty France1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .292 |
| Jackson MerrillCF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .241 |
| Luis RengifoLF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .243 |
| Luis CampusanoDH | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .304 |
| Xander BogaertsSS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .219 |
| Freddy FerminC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .193 |
| Gavin SheetsDH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .213 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Mize | 2.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 47 |
| Kyle Hart | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| Griffin Canning | 3.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 46 |
| Adrian Morejon | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Mason Miller | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
MINLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke KeaschallRF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .274 |
| Byron BuxtonCF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .251 |
| Josh BellDH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .254 |
| Ryan JeffersC | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .282 |
| Kody ClemensLF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .239 |
| Royce Lewis1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .236 |
| Brooks Lee3B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .247 |
| Kaelen CulpepperSS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
| Trevor LarnachLF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dean Kremer | 5.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 101 |
| A.J. Minter | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Andrew Morris | 1.0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Tommy Nance | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 27 |