Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) slides safely onto the home plate in the ninth inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, Sunday, June 29, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Downtown Cincinnati. Reds won 3-2.
Cincinnati, Ohio – By the time Will Benson’s walk-off single landed in right field, the Padres’ Sunday afternoon loss felt less like a gut-punch and more like déjà vu.
San Diego’s 3–2 defeat to the Reds at Great American Ball Park was the kind of game Padres fans have seen too often this season—one where squandered opportunities at the plate and a taxed bullpen combined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The loss clinched the series for Cincinnati and sent the Padres limping into Philadelphia, where a red-hot Zack Wheeler awaits.
It wasn’t all bad. Stephen Kolek gave the Padres a strong start, working into the sixth and allowing just one run while striking out five. And despite the high-wire act that has become standard operating procedure for this bullpen, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, and Jason Adam managed to get the ball to All-Star closer Robert Suarez with a 2–1 lead in the ninth.
But Suarez, who’s already appeared in more than half the team’s games, looked out of gas. He walked Gavin Lux on four pitches, gave up sharp contact to multiple hitters, and ultimately surrendered the lead on Spencer Steer’s RBI single before Benson’s game-winner sealed the Reds’ third walk-off of the season. Suarez’s ERA over his last 19 appearances is now a troubling 7.41.
The most frustrating part? This game was still winnable.
San Diego loaded the bases twice and came away with just a single run—an RBI groundout from José Iglesias. Every player in the Padres starting lineup had at least one opportunity with runners in scoring position. None delivered.
Xander Bogaerts did his part with a solo homer and two doubles, but one man can’t carry a lineup, especially when the rest of the team is leaving traffic stranded all afternoon.
The Padres are now 37–3 when leading after eight innings—an impressive record that underscores just how rare Sunday’s loss was, but also how damaging it might be. Suarez’s usage is becoming unsustainable, and if the offense can’t provide breathing room, San Diego risks wearing out the one part of its roster that’s mostly lived up to expectations.
Next up: a three-game set in Philadelphia, where Matt Waldron will make his season debut against Wheeler. The team could use a spark, but more than anything, they need timely hits and a break for their overworked bullpen.
Because if this game showed anything, it’s that the margins are razor thin—and the Padres keep slicing themselves.
