San Diego Padres at Atlanta Braves

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SD	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	6	8	0
ATL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	—	7	14	0

San Diego's Michael King and Atlanta's Martín Pérez set the table Wednesday, and neither one had much to do with how it ended. King (6-7, 3.35 ERA) has quietly been the one arm holding the Padres' rotation together all season, while Pérez (6-6, 3.42) was working back into rhythm after time away, still looking for his first sharp outing since a rough final start against the Mets.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Padres(50-51)

WLWLL

6

+1.5-186+104o8.5-108

Braves(58-42)

LWWLW

7

-1.5+194-104u8.5+111

Best BetBraves -123

Postgame

Cashed — Atlanta won outright 7-6 after the Padres' bullpen cracked in the 8th, though the 9th-inning rally made it closer than expected.

Pregame

We backed the Braves on the moneyline and it came down to the wire more than the price suggested it should. Atlanta's deeper lineup and healthier pitching staff were the right lean at -143, and San Diego's bullpen issues showed up exactly when it mattered in the 8th.

Atlanta's lineup did the heavy lifting instead. A quiet game turned into a track meet in the 8th inning, when the Braves strung together five straight RBI hits — Jarvis, Hicklen, Albies, Olson and Riley all cashed in — to turn a 1-0 nail-biter into a laugher. San Diego's bullpen, already stretched thin with closer Jason Adam out and depth pieces shuffling through the injured list, had no answer.

Michael King

(6-8)·3.45 ERA

Jul 17 @ Royals

ND

5.0IP

1ER

4K

2BB

97P

07/22 Lineup

Martín Pérez

(7-6)·3.24 ERA

Jul 5 vs Mets

L

4.1IP

4ER

1K

2BB

77P

07/22 Lineup

That should've been the whole story. Instead, Fernando Tatis Jr. tripled home two runs in the 9th and Luis Rengifo followed with a two-run homer to make it a one-run game before Raisel Iglesias slammed the door for his save. It was the kind of finish that makes a Wednesday night game feel like October.

This was the rubber match of a genuinely competitive three-game set — Atlanta grinding out a 3-2 win in the opener, San Diego firing back 8-3 behind two Machado homers and a 474-foot Tatis blast the very next day. Neither team blinked all week, which tracks with where they sit: the Braves are running a comfortable lead in the NL East at 58-42, while the Padres are treading water at 50-51 and trying to keep their season from sliding.

San Diego Padres

(50-51)

Jul 21W@ Braves8-3

Jul 20L@ Braves2-3

Jul 19W@ Royals19-2

Jul 18L@ Royals1-6

Jul 18L@ Royals6-7

Atlanta Braves

(58-42)

Jul 21Lvs Padres3-8

Jul 20Wvs Padres3-2

Jul 19Wvs Rangers8-5

Jul 18Lvs Rangers6-7

Jul 17Wvs Rangers15-1

Atlanta's still missing Ronald Acuña Jr., who's been out since late June with a hamstring strain but has been ramping up on a rehab assignment and flashing power in Triple-A — a sign the Braves' lineup could get another gear soon. San Diego, meanwhile, is dealing with a deeper injury crunch across its rotation and bullpen that's made King's Wednesday starts feel like must-watch appointments just to keep the arms race manageable.

San Diego Padres

(11)

• 10-Day-ILMiguel Andujar (DH) — The Padres placed Andujar on the 10-day injured list Monday with a fractured right wrist.07/20
• 10-Day-ILSamad Taylor (LF) — Taylor said Wednesday that he exited Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks with a right side injury, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.07/08
• 15-Day-ILLucas Giolito (SP) — Giolito (elbow) has been throwing at San Diego's team complex in Arizona and may be close to facing hitters, MLB.com reports.07/22
• 15-Day-ILJeremiah Estrada (RP) — Estrada (knee) moved his rehab assignment up to Triple-A El Paso, walking two and allowing one hit over one-third of an inning in an appearance Tuesday.07/22
• 15-Day-ILDavid Morgan (RP) — Morgan (knee) began a rehab assignment at the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Wednesday, yielding one hit and two walks with one strikeout in one-third of an inning, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.07/16
• 15-Day-ILJason Adam (RP) — Adam said Friday that an MRI on his right shoulder revealed no major structural damage, and he's hopeful to return from the 15-day injured list in early-to-mid August, MLB.com reports.07/07
• OutYu Darvish (SP) — Darvish (elbow) revealed Tuesday in a social media post that he has resumed playing catch.05/12
• 60-Day-ILNick Pivetta (SP) — Pivetta (forearm) will throw a live batting practice session this week, Annie Heilbrunn of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILJoe Musgrove (SP) — Padres manager Craig Stammen said that Musgrove (elbow) threw approximately 30-to-40 pitches in a two-inning simulated bullpen session Friday at the organization's complex in Arizona, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILRamon Laureano (LF) — Laureano underwent surgery Friday to repair his torn right labrum, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.06/05
• 60-Day-ILBryan Hoeing (RP) — The Padres transferred Hoeing (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.05/08

Atlanta Braves

(10)

• 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. (RF) — Manager Walt Weiss said Sunday that Acuna (hamstring) isn't guaranteed to be activated from the 10-day injured list before Atlanta's homestand ends Thursday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. "He's still got some days ahead of him," Weiss said. "We just want to make sure he doesn't have to try to figure it out or struggle up here. A guy like Acuna... moves the needle for our team. But we have to use good judgment there."07/20
• 10-Day-ILHa-Seong Kim (SS) — Atlanta announced Monday that Kim (finger) will begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.07/13
• 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez (RP) — Suarez (elbow) played catch on the field at Truist Park on Friday, Harrison Smajovits of SI.com reports.07/17
• suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) has been cleared to throw bullpen sessions, MLB.com reports.07/21
• 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Smith-Shawver (elbow) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out five across 4.1 scoreless innings during his rehab start Saturday with Triple-A Gwinnett.07/19
• 60-Day-ILSean Murphy (C) — Manager Walt Weiss said Saturday that Murphy (finger) is getting close to beginning a rehab assignment, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider (SP) — Strider (elbow) will have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Keith Meister next week and may also be scheduled for an MRI, Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
• 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

In the end, the box score tells the story better than any storyline could: a blowout inning followed by a scare, decided in the final three outs.