The San Diego Padres (19-9) returned to Petco Park after three consecutive road series, going 5-3. They took care of business against the Chicago Cubs (17-12), earning a 9-7 victory in a game that featured 11 runs over the first five innings.
One player who benefited from the road trip was SDSU alum Ty France, who has gone 4-for-7 with two home runs and six RBIs over his last two games. He drove in four runs on Monday night.
"Feel like myself again, getting getting good pitches to swing at, and mechanically, feel synced up," France said. "So it's nice when you know the ones that don't hit hard fall. So things just clicking right now."
San Diego’s defense showed up early in the first inning when Ramón Laureano robbed a potential double, sprinting at full speed before leaping to make the catch.
The Padres fed off that momentum. Laureano walked in his first at-bat, and Cubs pitcher Matt Boyd induced a ground ball from Fernando Tatis Jr. Boyd fumbled the exchange and couldn’t get Laureano out at second, settling for Tatis at first.
Jackson Merrill followed with a single to right field, and Laureano once again showed off his speed, scoring for a 1-0 lead. Manny Machado then singled to right, moving Merrill to third. After a Xander Bogaerts out, Miguel Andújar walked to load the bases. France, coming off a strong series in Mexico City, hit a ground-rule double to bring home Merrill and Machado for a 3-0 lead.
Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Apr 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) hits an RBI single during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park.
After a clean first inning, Randy Vásquez ran into trouble when his slider caught too much of the plate. Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki launched his fifth home run of the season to left-center, cutting the lead to 3-1.
Vásquez found more trouble in the third. With two outs, he walked Alex Bregman, then Ian Happ reached on an infield hit. Suzuki followed with a single to load the bases. Cubs rookie catcher Moisés Ballesteros then crushed his first career grand slam on the first pitch to right field, giving Chicago a 5-3 lead.
The Padres responded in the bottom of the third. Andújar reached on a fielder’s choice as Bogaerts was retired at second, but Machado scored to cut the deficit to 5-4.
In the fifth, Machado doubled to lead off the inning, and France followed with a walk. Nick Castellanos delivered an RBI double to center field, giving the Padres a 6-5 lead, his seventh RBI of the season.
"Nick Castellanos is one of the biggest hits of the night to give us the lead there," Stammen said. " He's adjusting to being a bench player right now. Accustomed to playing every single day, getting 500 at bats...It was just really nice to see him come through in that moment with a big at-bat."
Machado grounded out in the sixth inning but was seen visibly limping and was later removed from the game. Gavin Sheets replaced him, while France shifted from first base to third.
"He's fine," Stammen said. "We took him out as precaution... We'll talk to him tomorrow, see how he's feeling, and then kind of evaluate him going forward."
France continued his big night in the seventh. With Bogaerts and Andújar on base, he ripped a curveball from Phil Maton down the left-field line for a two-run triple, extending the Padres’ lead to 8-5. France finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs.
In the eighth, Sheets added insurance, launching a solo home run to right field, his fourth of the season, to make it 9-5, which is something they would need in the final inning.
Padres closer Mason Miller showed some vulnerability on Monday night after a questionable umpire call allowed Matt Shaw to reach first base. The ball trickled toward the third-base line, and Ty France appeared to think it went foul, but the umpire ruled it fair to which Petco Park booed the decision until the game ended.
“The call is what it is,” Miller said. “I thought I saw something different, but he was a lot closer than I was and I think everybody in the stadium had an opinion, but ultimately, it's only his that matters.”
Miller then surrendered back-to-back singles to load the bases. Nico Hoerner grounded out, bringing in the first run allowed by Miller in 34⅔ innings. He ultimately gave up two runs but recorded the final out.
"The beauty of it is you get to start another one," Miller said. "I guess now is a little too soon, but probably tonight and tomorrow, reflect on it and come in tomorrow ready to start a new one."
The Padres and Cubs will play Game 2 of the series on Tuesday, April 28, at 6:40 p.m. PT, with Edward Cabrera (2-0) set to face Walker Buehler (1-2).