SAN DIEGO -- The surging Padres won for the seventh time in eight games as they bested the Giants in a 6-5 walk-off win on Saturday night at Petco Park.
The Padres let an eighth-inning lead slip away before rallying in the ninth. After Xander Bogaerts opened the frame with a double and was sacrificed to third on a Freddy Fermin bunt, Jake Cronenworth’s two-out single delivered the win.
The Padres remain one game behind the Phillies for the final National League Wild Card spot.
It was a wacky game, one in which standout closer Mason Miller blew his first save of the year, only to stick around to earn the win.
But the big atta-boy went to Cronenworth, who has shown flashes of his old self since coming off the injured list on June 29 because of a concussion.
In an epic seven-pitch battle with Dylan Smith, after falling behind 0-2, Cronenworth delivered his first walk-off winner of the season with a sharp single to center field. The Padres players catapulted from the dugout and mobbed Cronenworth in one of the most thrilling wins of the season.
“It was full-on battle mode in that spot,’’ Cronenworth said. “That was about it.’’
The Padres banked many wins, similar to this one, when the season was young. As the year matured, their efforts of pulling rabbits out of hats diminished.
But on their current run that has them in the playoff race, resilient triumphs are making a return.
“If there is one thing this group knows is who we are as players,’’ Cronenworth said. “A lot of these guys have played for a long time. They’ve been through the ups and downs, the bad and the good. I think this is who we are and it has been awesome.’’
Added manager Craig Stammen: “He battled his tail off and got a hit that we have seen Jake get a few times. He has had a tough season and has battled back from a lot. And to see him have success in the second half of the season, with the way he has played since he has come back, it’s the old Jake Cronenworth that we remember.”
Fermin had three RBIs, with the big blow being a two-run homer -- only his fourth of the year -- in the fourth inning. He later added an RBI single. Jackson Merrill had the other two RBIs as the Padres’ offense, which had underperformed in the season’s first half, continued to produce.
Right-handed starter Walker Buehler worked 4 1/3 innings and surrendered three runs and the Padres’ bullpen did the heavy lifting from there.
“Going four and one-third with three runs isn’t anything great,’’ Buehler said. “But I was happy to come out with the lead and I’m throwing the ball well.”
Miller was the last of the Padres’ four relievers to tie a bow around the win. Miller blew his first save of the year in the eighth, but worked the ninth for his fourth victory in five decisions.
“The hardest thing to do when you get knocked down, is to get back up,’’ Stammen said.
Cronenworth stressed that no one in gold and brown was waving a white flag.
“If anything, that fired the guys up even more,’’ Cronenworth said after Miller’s rare misstep. “Mason goes back out there and has an awesome inning and keeps us in the game. That’s all we can ask for.’’
The Padres asked Cronenworth to shine when the spotlight found him in the ninth. After some nervous moments, he did just that.
“It’s been great to be back, be myself and be in those situations,’’ he said. “That is as simple as I can put it.”