CINCINNATI – Finishing 3-for-4 on Sunday afternoon, Will Benson caps off the Reds comeback with a RBI single against closer Robert Suárez to snake the series finale against the San Diego Padres 3-2 at Great American Ball Park. 

Looking at the schedule while duking it out in the standings for the last wild card spot in the National League, currently a game behind the Cardinals, this game will be a game where the Padres (45-38) should have had captured, owning a 37-2 record when leading after the eighth inning.

“It says that we got a really good bullpen,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “(It) says that we play good defense. It says we put ourselves in position to win a game and we typically shake hands.

Not only did they have countless opportunities to extend their lead, the group left 13 runners on base and finished 0-for-13 with RISP. Meanwhile, courtesy of the blown save, the Reds finished 4-for-8 with RISP, which proved to be all the difference.

“Great at-bats, a lot of traffic. Just couldn’t get the proverbial big hit or hits to break it open,” Shildt said. “(We) had a lot of chances, and on the contrast they were 4-for-8. They did their part and (they) did it at the end where it mattered.” 

Not only was this game tough, frustrating to swallow, but the Padres pitching staff was let down once again. Basically asking your pitching staff for perfection, Sunday’s rotation was tremendous on the mound through first eight innings.

“Play a lot of close games and we need to figure out a way to add on and have a little bit of a margin of error with our pitching group,” Shildt said.   

Stephen Kolek, who made his 11th start, tossed his season average 5.2 innings on 71 pitches. Giving up an earned run on three hits with five strikeouts, Kolek was in complete command in the frames, controlling most of his pitch counts, accurately landing the location and keeping up the speed on his pitches.

Replacing Kolek with two outs, Adrian Morejon threw only two pitches to close out the inning, one being a single by Elly De La Cruz and the other being a pop out to Austin Hays.

“Kolek was good too, not an easy decision,” Shildt said about the decision to pull his starting pitcher. “He was good. He (was) not a major factor in the decision. The major factor in the decision is just doesn’t match up against a left against (Elly) De La Cruz. It’s a pretty big significant difference in that.” 

Jeremiah Estrada pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning including striking out a pair. Jason Adam would follow the inning after and he also tossed a scoreless half. 

Tied for the most saves in the major league (23), Suárez now owns a 2-4 record with a 3.89 ERA and has three blown saves this season. Over his last seven games, the right-hander is 1-3 with a 18.69 ERA giving up nine earned runs on 12 hits. 

The Padres could be dealing with a limited bullpen tomorrow after using Morejon, Adam and Suárez in back-to-back games. 

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts finished the day with three multiple base hits including a pair of doubles and a 389 ft solo shot to left center field that gave the Padres the opening lead. 

Bogaerts did exit today’s game and was replaced by Tyler Wade during the ninth inning after experiencing cramps. 

San Diego’s second and final run came from Jose Iglesias with bases loaded during the seventh inning. Iglesias avoided a double-play by grounding into a force out, Fernando Tatis Jr., from third base, was able to reach home to momentarily regain the game.  

Continuing to make an impact since joining the team in Spring Training, Gavin Sheets went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. The lefty led his team with five hits in the series including a home run and three RBIs. 

Luis Arraez and Tatis Jr. both finished 1-for-3 with two walks. A tale of two hitters, Arraez is batting 21-for-65 (.323 AVG) over his last 15 games, while the other is 13-for-56 (.232 AVG). 

Obviously still working through the kinks, Tatis Jr. is batting a shocking .154 AVG in his last seven games, going 4-for-26 with a home run, four hits, three RBIs, four walks and striking out three times.   

The Padres will continue their east coast trip to Philadelphia, starting a three-game series against the Phillies. Starting at 3:35 p.m., game one will feature the return of right-handed pitcher Matt Waldron, who last pitched on Sept. 29 in Arizona. 

On the opposing side, the Phillies will start right-hander Zack Wheeler (7-3, 2.45 ERA), making his 16th start. Wheeler lost his last start against the Astros, pitching six scoreless innings and allowed three hits with eight strikeouts. 

Sustaining a left oblique injury during Spring Training and began the season on the injured list, Waldron’s presence on the mound is timely considering the recent news about starting ace Michael King having a vague return timeline, and Yu Darvish, who threw 31 pitches in the bullpen on Saturday in Lake Elsinore, getting closer to returning to the Friars’ rotation and is planning on throwing again in the coming week. 

Waldron will look to contribute to a depleted pitching room that persevered a 26 game stretch over the last 27 days before arriving in Cincinnati. Starting in 26 out of 27 games last season with the Padres, 28-year-old clocked a 7-11 record with a 4.91 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 146.2 innings.