Las Vegas A's

Padres’ 3 homers sink A’s 7-3 at Petco Park

Padres beat A’s 7-3 on Friday at Petco Park after San Diego erased an early deficit and surged late. Manny Machado, Nick Castellanos and Ramon Laureano homered, while the Padres scored four runs over the final two innings to pull away.

by
Mark Hebert
May 23, 2026

Jeff McNeil hits a second-inning single against the Padres at Petco Park.

May 22, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Athletics second baseman Jeff McNeil (22) hits a single during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Athletics started fast, but the Padres had the bigger answers.

San Diego hit three home runs, scored four times over its final two offensive innings and beat the A’s 7-3 on Friday at Petco Park. The loss dropped the Athletics to 26-25 and snapped their three-game winning streak.

Early lead slips away

The A’s jumped on Walker Buehler in the first inning.

Carlos Cortes singled, and Nick Kurtz followed with an RBI double to center. After Shea Langeliers moved Kurtz to third, Brent Rooker drove him in with a groundout for a 2-0 lead.

However, Manny Machado tied it in the bottom half. His two-run homer off Jeffrey Springs made it 2-2.

The A’s moved back ahead in the fourth. Zack Gelof doubled, and Henry Bolte singled him home to give the Athletics a 3-2 lead.

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— Athletics (@Athletics) May 23, 2026

Padres find the swing

Nick Castellanos tied it again in the fifth with a solo homer off Springs.

Then Ramón Laureano put San Diego ahead for good in the seventh. His solo homer gave the Padres a 4-3 lead and ended Springs’ night.

Springs took the loss and fell to 3-5. He allowed four runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings, with three walks and three strikeouts.

Eighth inning opens it up

The game stayed close until the eighth.

Rodolfo Durán, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Miguel Andujar opened the inning with three straight singles against Jack Perkins. Gavin Sheets followed with a two-run single to make it 6-3.

After that, Xander Bogaerts added a sacrifice fly. The Padres led 7-3, and the A’s did not threaten again.

Numbers that mattered

Kurtz reached three times and drove in a run with his 11th double. Bolte went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.

McNeil also had two hits, while Gelof doubled and scored. Still, the A’s went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.

San Diego had only seven hits, but three left the yard. Machado, Castellanos and Laureano each homered.

Up next

The series continues Saturday night at Petco Park.

J.T. Ginn is scheduled to start for the A’s. He enters 2-2 with a 2.98 ERA and 44 strikeouts. San Diego is set to counter with Lucas Giolito, who is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and three strikeouts.

Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.