Fundamentals falter, Padres lose game, series to Rangers

ASFN Admin · Jun 22, 2026

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JUNE 21: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the San Diego Padres turns the double play as Josh Jung #6 of the Texas Rangers slides into second base during the third inning at Globe Life Field on June 21, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Fernando Tatis Jr. came off the bench to pinch-hit to lead off the top of the ninth inning. He laced a single into center field and represented the tying run for the San Diego Padres who trailed the Texas Rangers, 4-3. Xander Bogaerts followed Tatis and pushed him to second base with his own single to center field. The Padres were in prime position to at least tie the game with runners at first and second with no outs and Ty France coming to the plate. France homered twice in the series opener, which included a grand slam, but that was not needed in this case. All he had to do was put the ball in play without hitting into a double play. France failed to execute the fundamentals and struck out giving San Diego their first out with no advancement of the runners. Sung-Mun Song then flied lined out to the outfield, which also did not allow either runner to advance and Rodolfo Duran grounded out to short to end the threat and the game. It was a difficult to end to a promising start to the inning and the result was a 4-3 loss and a series loss for the Padres.

San Diego employed the opener to start the game with Wandy Peralta throwing a scoreless first inning. Luca Giolito came on for the bulk innings role and allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. The most disappointing aspect of his start was he immediately surrendered the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fourth inning after the Padres scored three runs in the top of the inning to tie the game, 3-3. Giolito allowed back-to-back-to-back one out singles, which allowed the Rangers to take a 4-3 lead when Josh Jung singled to score Wyatt Langford. Neither team added to their run total for the remainder of the game and San Diego finished its three-city road trip with a record of 4-5.

The Padres return home to host the Atlanta Braves today at 7:10 p.m.

Padres News:

Jhony Brito continued his return to the majors with another solid start for El Paso and currently has an ERA under three with 30 innings pitched.

Miguel Andujar returned from the injured list and the Padres had to make a corresponding move to make room on the roster. Nick Solak was designated for assignment.

Baseball News:

Bryce Harper has found magic in his bat. A day after hitting for the cycle, he was a triple shy of doing it again for the Philadelphia Phillies, using the same bat.