SAN DIEGO -- Everything went wrong for the Padres to begin Saturday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins.
Casey Mize walked off the mound with a trainer after just 2 2/3 innings with a right ankle sprain. The Twins raced out to a 5-1 lead after four innings, while the Padres had managed just one hit. Their opponent was mashing, their bullpen was about to be taxed, and their offense couldn’t do much of anything.
And yet, the Padres won anyway. Such is the way things are going for baseball’s hottest team.
Jake Cronenworth hit two key doubles to kickstart a late rally, Ty France delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh to cap a four-run inning, and the Padres stormed back to stun the Twins, 7-5, in front of a raucous, sellout crowd at Petco Park.
The Padres have won 20 of their last 27 games dating back to July 24. They own the best record in baseball in that time.
Jackson Merrill’s solo home run in the second inning was the only run the Padres managed until the sixth against Twins starter Dean Kremer. Cronenworth led off the sixth with a double and Merrill drove him home with a two-out single to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Cronenworth got a four-run rally started in the seventh when he ripped a two-run double off reliever Andrew Morris to bring the Padres within a run. Manny Machado followed with a grounder to the left side and Twins shortstop Kaelen Culpepper threw to third to attempt to get the lead runner, Cronenworth. But third baseman Brooks Lee missed the catch, and Cronenworth scampered home with the tying run.
Two pitches later, France looped a single into short right field to bring home Machado with the go-ahead run.
Fernando Tatis Jr. added an RBI single in the eighth for insurance and Mason Miller slammed the door in the ninth with his 32nd save.