Padres come back to beat White Sox, stop losing streak

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on May 3, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — It didn’t come easy.

But Xander Bogaerts came through in a very Xander Bogaerts manner, and that seemed a fitting way for the San Diego Padres to take a lead that would set them up for their first victory in six days.

A four-game losing streak came to an end in large part because Bogaerts hit a check-swing grounder straight down, off the plate and then out toward the left side of the infield to bring home the decisive run in the eighth inning.

The Padres also got five strong innings from Griffin Canning in his first start for them, hit two home runs and had Mason Miller close out his major league-leading 11th save in Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Petco Park.

The infield hit was Bogaerts’ 251st since the start of 2014, his first full season in the major leagues. That is tied with Jose Altuve for most in MLB in that span.

That is what it took after White Sox pinch-hitter Derek Hill tied the game with a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

In his first start with the Padres and first start since rupturing his left Achilles while pitching for the New York Mets in June, Canning allowed a run in five innings and departed with the Padres up 3-1.

He was the first Padres starting pitcher since the previous Sunday to not put them in a multi-run hole.

It helped, too, that the Padres did something they had not done the previous two days — score against a White Sox starter.

They waited until the fourth inning but turned a 1-0 deficit into their first lead in five games by hitting two home runs and scoring on a passed ball.

The Padres had not managed a run and had just six hits against the first two White Sox starters in this series — Noah Schultz and Sean Burke, two of the young starters that the franchise is hoping will help turn around a bad stretch of seasons.

As meager as the Padres’ offense has been, getting shut out by Anthony Kay would have raised a new level of alarm.

Kay, 31 and in his first season back from pitching in Japan, entered Sunday’s game with a 6.12 ERA in his 25 innings. Right-handed batters were hitting .325/.423/.575 against him.

Both teams made a third out at the plate in the first two innings.

Canning walked two batters in the first inning and had surrendered a two-out single up the middle that Bogaerts stopped but bobbled, prompting Sam Antonacci to round third and try for home, where he was thrown out by Bogaerts by about four steps.

In the second inning, third-base coach Bob Henley tried to send Ty France from first to home on Nick Castellanos’ double to the corner in left field, but a relay throw beat France by about two steps.

Drew Romo began the third inning by making sure he could not be thrown out, lining Canning’s first pitch over the wall in right field to put the White Sox up 1-0.

The Padres finally got to Kay in the fourth inning on four hits and a walk by right-handed batters, including a pair of solo home runs.

Miguel Andujar tied the game, turning on a 1-2 sinker on the inside edge and sending it to the seats beyond left field. Manny Machado put the Padres up with his one-out homer to left field.

Bogaerts and France followed with singles and moved to third on Castellanos’ grounder to Kay.

Bogaerts scored when Romo, the White Sox catcher, let a high fastball bounce off his glove and to the backstop, allowing Bogaerts to dash home.

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