Baseball

Padres Yu Darvish Is Activated from the Injured List; Tatis Jr. Hits Walk-Off Single in 10th to Give Padres a 6-5 Victory over Tigers

AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish winds up in the second inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in San Diego.

15:13 JST, September 5, 2024

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit an RBI single with two outs in the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 6-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.

Playing his second game back after being on the injured list since June 22, Tatis singled to left off Jason Foley (3-5) to bring in automatic runner Jackson Merrill, who hit a three-run homer in the fourth and finished a triple shy of the cycle as the Padres overcame a 5-0 deficit.

Tatis’ jersey was ripped off during a wild celebration near third base.

The Tigers intentionally walked Luis Arraez to get to Tatis.

Jeremiah Estrada (5-2) pitched the 10th for the victory.

AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan
San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, left, takes the ball from starting pitcher Yu Darvish in the third inning of a baseball game against Detroit Tigers Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in San Diego.

Padres right-hander Yu Darvish was activated from the injured list and made his first start since May 29. He allowed three runs and four hits in 2 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked two. During that span, Darvish had been on both the IL, with a left groin strain, and the restricted list due to a family matter.

Darvish left trailing 3-0 after allowing a two-out solo homer to Matt Vierling in the first, his 16th, and one run each in the second and third.

The Tigers went up 5-0 in the fourth when rookie Trey Sweeney hit a two-run home run to deep right off Yuki Matsui, his second.

The Padres started their rally when the lefty-hitting Merrill muscled his three-run shot to left. It was his 22nd homer gave him 82 RBIs, breaking the team rookie record of 79 set by Benito Santiago in 1987.

Merrill has come on strong in the second half and is pushing Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes in the race for NL Rookie of the Year. Merrill was named NL Rookie of the Month for August on Tuesday. The 21-year-old was a prized shortstop prospect but was moved to center field in spring training to replace Trent Grisham, who went to the New York Yankees along with Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7.

Machado tied it at 5 with a single to left with one out in the fifth to chase starter Keider Montero.

Montero allowed five runs and seven hits, struck out two and walked two.