Diamondbacks Beat Padres 11-4 to Keep Wild-Card Hopes Alive
The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Diego Padres 11-4 on Friday night, September 26, 2026, at Petco Park, keeping their postseason hopes alive in the National League wild-card race. Nolan Arenado hit his 30th home run of the season, and Geraldo Perdomo drove in four runs to back a strong 7 2/3-inning performance from winning pitcher Brandon Pfaadt.
Wild-Card Stakes and Standings Context
Entering the final stretch of the regular season, the National League wild-card picture remained tense. The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs had secured their postseason berths the previous day on Thursday, leaving the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks to scrap for the final remaining spot. With the Chicago Cubs swept in a doubleheader by Boston and the Philadelphia Phillies dropping a game to the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego needed just a single victory against Arizona to lock down the No. 4 seed and home-field advantage for the upcoming wild-card round.
Instead, the Diamondbacks dismantled San Diego pitching early and often. Arizona improved its record to 86-74 overall, sitting at 41-38 on the road. The loss kept the Padres at 89-71 with a 49-30 home record. Arizona stood exactly one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies with only two regular-season games left on the schedule.
Offensive Fireworks at Petco Park
Arizona wasted no time getting to Padres starting pitcher Casey Mize. Lars Nootbar opened the game by launching Mize’s very first pitch into the right-field corner for a home run. Geraldo Perdomo followed with an RBI triple, and Corbin Carroll added a sacrifice fly to stake the Diamondbacks to an immediate 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Jordan Lawlar added a solo home run to right field with one out in the second inning. San Diego answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout by Luis Campusano and an RBI single by Jake Cronenworth off Brandon Pfaadt. However, Nolan Arenado quickly extinguished any Padres momentum in the third. With two outs, Arenado drove a two-run blast off the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in left field, pushing the score to 6-2.
Gabriel Moreno chipped in an RBI single in the fourth inning. The game broke open completely in the top of the sixth when Kyle Hart walked the bases loaded and Geraldo Perdomo cleared them with a double that clipped the glove of retreating center fielder Jackson Merrill before bouncing off the padded fence. Lawlar added a groundout RBI in the seventh to cap the scoring at 11 runs for Arizona.
Pitching Performances and Bullpen Management
Brandon Pfaadt earned his eighth win against three losses this season, successfully defeating the Padres for the third time in 2026. He logged 7 2/3 innings, giving up four runs and nine hits while striking out seven batters and walking two. Ryne Nelson and Z. Gallen finished out the final frames for Arizona.
On the mound for San Diego, Casey Mize absorbed the loss, dropping to 6-10 after yielding seven earned runs on seven hits across four innings of work. Relief pitchers Daniel Morgan, Kyle Hart, Jason Adam, and Wandy Peralta soaked up the remaining innings for the Padres.
Defensively, San Diego center fielder Jase Bowen provided bright spots for the home crowd by robbing Perdomo of a home run in the eighth inning and doing the same to Tim Tawa in the ninth.
Looking Ahead to the Final Series Games
With the regular season winding down, the Diamondbacks faced rotation decisions for Saturday night after placing right-hander Corbin Burnes on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. Meanwhile, the Padres announced they would turn to right-hander Walker Buehler, who carries a 9-6 record and a 4.56 ERA, for the second game of the series at Petco Park.
