Padres 8, Rockies 7: Bogaerts Ends a Night of Three Comebacks

Bogaerts got one more chance to fix his night

July 28, 2026 – San Diego – Xander Bogaerts had already argued a call, grounded into a forceout, and made an eighth-inning error that helped Colorado take the lead.

The ninth gave him another chance.

Jackson Merrill opened with a single, stole second, and advanced to third when catcher Hunter Goodman’s throw sailed into center field. Two walks loaded the bases with nobody out. Bogaerts lifted a fly to center, Merrill tagged, and the throw home arrived too late.

Colorado challenged the call. Replay upheld it. The San Diego Padres had an 8-7 walk-off win over the Colorado Rockies, their fourth straight victory and their seventh walk-off of the season.

The ending fit a game that refused to settle. San Diego trailed by two runs three different times and tied it each time. The Padres then fell behind by one in the eighth, tied it again, and finally took their first lead since the second inning when Xander Bogaerts brought Merrill home.

Tatis kept putting San Diego back in the game

Fernando Tatis Jr. went 5-for-5 with two RBIs, the first five-hit game of his career. His hits arrived when San Diego needed another answer.

The Padres scored twice in the second. Luis Campusano doubled home Gavin Sheets, then Tatis singled Bogaerts across. Campusano was thrown out trying to score on the same play, one of several baserunning mistakes that kept the night close.

Colorado erased that lead in the third. Willi Castro homered. Jake McCarthy drove in another run, and Mickey Moniak followed with a two-run shot. A 2-0 Padres lead became a 4-2 deficit in one inning.

Manny Machado singled home Tatis in the fifth. Tatis then tied the game at 4-4 with another RBI single in the sixth. San Diego had loaded the bases, but a double play again limited what could have become a larger inning.

The Rockies moved ahead 6-4 in the seventh on RBI doubles from Ezequiel Tovar and Moniak. Merrill singled home Machado in the bottom half, then a Colorado fielding error allowed Ty France to score the tying run.

That was comeback No. 2.

The eighth belonged to both teams’ mistakes

Colorado loaded the bases in the eighth after Bogaerts’ error. Adrian Morejón then walked Tovar with two outs, forcing home the go-ahead run.

San Diego answered without a clean hit driving in the run. Jake Cronenworth scored when McCarthy mishandled Machado’s single in right. The Rockies’ fourth error had made it 7-7.

This was not a polished game. The clubs combined for five errors. San Diego ran into outs. Several of the Padres’ best pitchers gave up runs in innings where the defense or command slipped.

But the Padres kept responding. They scored in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth. Every Colorado lead lasted only until San Diego’s next turn at bat.

That persistence mattered because the National League Wild Card race left little room for dropping a home game against the team with the league’s worst record. San Diego entered the night chasing the final spot. It left 1½ games back and above .500 at 54-53.

Miller cleared the ninth in order

Mason Miller gave San Diego its first quiet inning in a while.

The right-hander struck out all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth. No error to work around. No runner in scoring position. No fifth Colorado lead for the offense to chase.

That clean frame changed the shape of the bottom half. Merrill didn’t need to tie the game. He only needed to reach. Once he singled and forced the issue with a steal, Colorado’s throwing error put the winning run 90 feet away.

Jimmy Herget (0-4) walked Luis Rengifo and pinch-hitter Sung-Mun Song. That brought Bogaerts back to the center of the game. His sacrifice fly produced the eighth walk-off of his career. His last three have all come against Colorado, including a grand slam earlier this season.

AthX Engine captured the full team effort

AthX Engine put San Diego at 12 team fantasy points, tied for fifth on Tuesday. Tatis’ five hits drove the offense, while Miller’s three-strikeout ninth created the opening for the walk-off.

Daily fantasy points measure the work on the field. Share prices also respond to market activity through dynamic pricing. They are related signals, not the same number.

The Padres’ total sat below Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee on a busy slate. The finish still carried more pressure than most of the higher-scoring wins. San Diego trailed in the seventh and eighth, then put the winning run on third before Bogaerts stepped in.

A messy win still counts in late July

San Diego will not use this game as a lesson in clean baseball. The Padres will use it as a win.

Tatis had five hits. Merrill reached three times and scored the last run. Machado collected three hits. Miller struck out the side. Bogaerts answered his own eighth-inning mistake with the swing that ended the night.

Colorado had chances to turn each San Diego error or baserunning mistake into separation. Instead, four Rockies errors kept reopening the game. The Padres accepted every opening.

San Diego has won four straight. The Wild Card gap is 1½ games. In late July, that is the part that travels to the next day.

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*Sources: MLB.com schedule, MLB.com game story, ESPN box score, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*