Yankees Look to Build on Offensive Explosion in Series Finale vs. Padres
After a stretch of near-misses and narrow defeats, the New York Yankees finally broke through with a monster seventh inning Tuesday night, setting the stage for a high-stakes rubber match against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. With their bats coming alive in spectacular fashion, the Yankees aim to ride that momentum into the series finale at Yankee Stadium.
A Seventh-Inning Surge to Remember
Trailing by a run and facing the best bullpen in baseball, the Yankees erupted for 10 runs in the seventh inning Tuesday—matching their biggest inning since 2015. Seven hits, a pair of walks, and clutch swings against San Diego lefties Adrian Morejon and Wandy Peralta turned a close game into a 10-1 rout.
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Austin Wells was the star of the inning, first tying the game with an RBI single, then blasting a grand slam to cap the explosive rally. Trent Grisham’s go-ahead hit, Ben Rice’s two-run double, and Cody Bellinger’s RBI single contributed to the offensive fireworks.
“It just kind of felt like we’ve had some really good, close games this past week… The performance by the offense was very impressive. It’s a lot of fun when they’re clicking like that.”
— Clarke Schmidt, Yankees Pitcher
The win prevented a four-game skid for New York and gave their offense a much-needed jolt against what had been the most dominant bullpen in the majors.
Padres Bullpen Shows Rare Vulnerability
San Diego entered Tuesday’s contest with the best bullpen ERA in MLB (1.68), but after surrendering 10 runs in a single inning, that number ballooned to 2.34—still league-leading, but a sobering moment for one of baseball’s best relief corps.
“Just one of those days… They’ve been the best part of us to start the year… I know that their next outing is going to be clean.”
— Michael King, Padres Starter
The Padres are still a solid 4-1 on their current nine-game road trip, but Tuesday’s collapse could linger if they can’t contain New York in the series finale.
Fried vs. Cease: Pitching Duel in Focus
The Yankees will hand the ball to ace Max Fried (6-0, 1.01 ERA), who has been nothing short of sensational. Fried is coming off a dominant outing against the Rays, where he allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings. He owns a 3-1 career record with a 2.30 ERA in five starts against the Padres and looks poised to give New York a strong chance to clinch the series.
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San Diego counters with right-hander Dylan Cease (1-2, 5.61 ERA), who has struggled over his past five starts. Cease allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings the last time he faced the Yankees and is just 1-2 with a 6.39 ERA in five career starts against them.
This pitching mismatch puts extra pressure on the Padres’ offense to produce early—and their bullpen to bounce back from Tuesday’s disaster.