ANAHEIM — The San Diego Padres broke through late and leaned on a dominant bullpen to secure a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
Locked in a scoreless duel for much of the game, the Padres finally generated offense in the eighth inning and added insurance in the ninth to pull away after both starting pitchers delivered strong outings.
San Diego’s breakthrough came in the eighth when the bottom of the order sparked a rally. Freddy Fermin and Jake Cronenworth opened the inning with walks before Ramón Laureano delivered a go-ahead single. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a soft grounder that found its way through the infield, helping extend the lead.
The Angels answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning, capitalizing on a pair of singles and a prolonged at-bat that resulted in an RBI hit. But San Diego’s bullpen limited the damage and preserved the advantage.
The Padres added two more runs in the ninth, again taking advantage of walks and timely situational hitting. Laureano contributed with a sacrifice fly, and Tatis added another RBI to make it 4-1.
From there, the back end of the Padres’ bullpen took over. Mason Miller closed the door with a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save, continuing his dominant stretch on the mound. The hard-throwing right-hander worked around a couple of baserunners to finish the game and extend his scoreless streak.
“Game over,” Tatis said of the team’s confidence once it grabs a late lead, praising the bullpen’s ability to shut opponents down.
The late offense backed a strong outing from starter Germán Márquez, who allowed just two hits and pitched into the sixth inning in his best start of the season. Márquez navigated early control issues and benefited from solid defense behind him, including a home run robbery by Jackson Merrill that kept the game scoreless.
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi was equally effective, striking out eight and completing six innings without allowing a run. He kept San Diego off balance with a mix of velocity and off-speed pitches before the Padres finally broke through against the bullpen.
Padres manager Craig Stammen credited both the pitching and timely hitting in the late innings.
“We felt good about our bullpen and felt good about our offense at the end of the game,” Stammen said. “A couple balls fall in and we’re able to tack on runs.”
The win snapped the tension of a tight, low-scoring contest and highlighted the formula the Padres hope will carry them forward — strong pitching, patience at the plate and execution in key moments.