Padres rally behind Cronenworth, France in 7th inning to beat Twins 7-5

San Diego's Jake Cronenworth drove in the tying run on an error, and Ty France scored the go-ahead run during a four-run rally in the seventh inning. This rally propelled the Padres to a 7-5 victory against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night. The Padres, now in the National League's third wild-card spot, secured their 10th win in their last 13 games and their 20th victory in 27 outings.

They aim for a three-game sweep against the Twins on Sunday. The Padres' rally began when Freddy Fermin reached on catcher's interference with one out, followed by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s single. Cronenworth then hit a double into the left-field corner, bringing both runners home to make it 5-4. Manny Machado grounded to shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, who threw to third in an attempt to throw out Cronenworth, but Brooks Lee mishandled the play, resulting in an error.

Cronenworth slid headfirst to score the tying run. Ty France followed with an opposite-field single, driving in Machado, securing the Padres' advantage. Griffin Canning earned the win, while Mason Miller pitched a perfect ninth inning, securing his 32nd save. Padres' right-hander Casey Mize allowed three solo home runs before leaving the game with two outs in the third inning due to a sprained right ankle.

He had slipped while descending the dugout steps following the second inning. Luke Keaschall and Kaelen Culpepper each hit consecutive homers in the second inning, with Keaschall's eighth home run marking the first time Mize allowed a leadoff homer. Jackson Merrill hit his 20th homer with a single out in the second inning off Dean Kremer, and he added an RBI single in the sixth inning. Twins' starting pitchers were Bailey Ober (7-4, 4.62 ERA) and Walker Buehler (7-6, 4.79).