Jul 5, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong (43) celebrates with catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) after defeating the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
San Diego, California – Kyle Higashioka, the veteran catcher, who enjoyed a career-best offensive year in San Diego last season, returned Saturday night in a Rangers uniform and promptly torched his old team with three hits and five RBI in a 7-4 Texas win. For Higashioka, it was a familiar script — just flipped. This time, he was doing the damage against the Padres, not for them.
Higashioka entered the night with just one home run and 16 RBI all year. He nearly matched that output in one game. Batting ninth, the 34-year-old launched a two-run homer off Stephen Kolek in the third, added an RBI single in the fourth, drove in another with a sac fly in the sixth, and tacked on a final RBI single in the eighth. His OPS at Petco Park now sits at a robust .857 — easily his best at any ballpark where he’s logged significant time.
With the Padres’ catching depth under the microscope and the trade deadline approaching, Higashioka’s name has quietly surfaced in rumors. After a night like this, it’s hard not to imagine a reunion — especially for a team hoping to gear up for another October push.
The Padres, meanwhile, showed flashes of fight but couldn’t overcome the early deficit. Jake Cronenworth briefly gave San Diego a lead with a two-run homer in the second — his eighth of the season — and the Friars clawed back with a pair of sacrifice flies from Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado in the seventh. But a ninth-inning rally came up short when Xander Bogaerts grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game.
Luis Arraez continued to be a bright spot, collecting four hits to raise his average and spark multiple Padres rallies. But it wasn’t enough to bail out Kolek, who surrendered six runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings to fall to 3-4 on the season.
The loss drops San Diego back to .500 in the midst of a tightly contested playoff race. With Machado now just two hits shy of 2,000 for his career, and the trade deadline looming, big moments — and big decisions — are on the horizon.
For now, Padres fans can only watch as a familiar face in Higashioka reminds them what he can do when the lights are on at Petco.
