Padres outlast Cubs 9-7 behind Ty France’s 4-RBI night

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.

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.

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. 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 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).