SAN DIEGO -- Slam Diego is back. In style.
Xander Bogaerts ended the longest game at Petco Park in nearly five years with a walk-off grand slam, sending the Padres to a 7-3 victory over the Rockies on Thursday night at Petco Park.
It’s his second walk-off home run as a Padre and the first walk-off grand slam by any Padre since Manny Machado in August 2020 (the week the Slam Diego moniker was born).
The Rockies opted to walk Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado, choosing to pitch to Bogaerts with the bases loaded and, thus, a forceout at home plate. Bogaerts instantly made them pay, turning on a Valente Bellozo fastball and sending it into the left-field seats.
In the top half of the inning, Jake Cronenworth cut down the would-be go-ahead run with an outstanding play on a sharp ground ball. He fielded it backhanded and threw home to get Willi Castro at the plate -- with the help of a strong tag from Luis Campusano.
It was Campusano whose two-out RBI double in the 11th extended the game.
The Rockies grabbed a lead in the top of the 10th inning on Tyler Freeman’s RBI single through the right side. But the Padres rallied to tie it in the bottom of the frame on Machado’s sacrifice fly.
In the top of the 11th, Brett Sullivan put Colorado on top with a leadoff double, plating the automatic runner. But Campusano answered, setting the stage for a dramatic 12th inning.