SAN DIEGO — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a go-ahead, two-run home run with two outs in the eighth — two innings after the Padres scored seven runs — and San Diego stunned the Chicago Cubs9-8 Monday night.
On the 20th anniversary of the first Padres game at Petco Park, Tatis exuberantly celebrated the moment that fully erased an 8-0 deficit. He held his bat out with his left arm as he watched the ball sail into the left-field seats, flipped it, hollered and pumped his fists as he started his trot. He was wearing custom cleats honoring the late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Rookie Jackson Merrill was aboard on a leadoff walk off Adbert Alzolay (1-1).
“It was amazing. But all credit to the boys,” Tatis said. “We were down 8-0, and we were never out of the game. We kept building, we kept taking good at-bats against tough pitches. The boys started executing. We started moving the line, we kept believing in each other and that was just the final blow.”
The win tied the Padres’ largest comeback in franchise history. The other three games they won after trailing by eight runs: May 23, 1970, at the San Francisco Giants; June 10, 1974, versus the Pittsburgh Pirates; and July 8, 2021, versus the Washington Nationals.
The Cubs, meanwhile, entered Monday having won 234 consecutive games they led by eight or more runs. Their last such loss came on June 28, 2002, at the Chicago White Sox.
In conjunction with his branding company Xample, Tatis plans to unveil 50 pairs of custom cleats this season. His choice for Monday night, featuring different designs on each cleat, honored Gwynn, known as Mr. Padre, who played his entire 20-season career in San Diego. Gwynn died in 2014 at age 54.
“Definitely the shoes,” Tatis said with a laugh. “The power came from above. Always grateful. Definitely a little bit inspired today. I’m going to keep playing with them. Hopefully, they keep sending good luck. Just happy I was wearing those shoes today.”
As Padres manager Mike Shildt said, “It was a big homer. Impressive. Impressive guy. Real proud of him.”
Tatis slammed into the wall in right after just missing Dansby Swanson‘s two-run triple in the fourth that gave the Cubs an 8-0 lead.
Shildt said Tatis came up to him in the dugout and said, “Man, just a game of inches.”
“I said, ‘Yeah, sometimes things don’t work out and we’ve got to keep fighting.’ This was when it was 8-0,” the manager explained, “and he said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to keep fighting,’ and he patted me on the back.”
Cubs right-hander Javier Assad, who grew up across the border, in Tijuana, took a two-hit shutout and an 8-0 lead into the sixth before the Padres pulled within a run in the sixth that was highlighted by two-run homers by Jake Cronenworth and Xander Bogaerts. The Padres had five hits, a walk and an error that inning.
Assad allowed a leadoff walk to Tatis before being chased by Cronenworth’s two-run homer — his first of the season — to right. Jose Cuas came on for Chicago, and the next three Padres batters reached, starting with Manny Machado on an error by shortstop Swanson that made three of the runs unearned. Ha-Seong Kim smacked a two-run triple, and Luis Campusano hit an RBI grounder. Bogaerts capped the scoring with a two-run shot off Luke Little for his first homer of the campaign. Tatis flied out to right to end the inning.
Assad allowed two runs and three hits, with seven strikeouts and three walks.
San Diego’s Yu Darvish, who pitched for the Cubs from 2018 to 2020, threw 42 pitches in the second inning, when the Cubs scored four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. Darvish twice loaded the bases, and Ian Happ and Cody Bellinger each hit a two-run single.
Darvish got through a quick third inning but was done for the night after allowing four runs and four hits while striking out four and walking three. It was just the 10th time in 281 career starts, including the postseason, that Darvish went three or fewer innings.
The Cubs then jumped on Pedro Avila for four more runs in the fourth. After the Cubs loaded the bases with one out, Bellinger hit a sacrifice fly, Christopher Morel hit an RBI double and Swanson tripled in two more.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.
Dec 10, 2025, 07:37 PM ET
Sherrone Moore was in custody in the Washtenaw (Michigan) County Jail on Wednesday night as a suspect in an alleged assault, just hours after he was fired as Michigan’s football coach for having what the school said was an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
Moore was initially detained by police in Saline, Michigan, on Wednesday and turned over to authorities in Pittsfield Township “for investigation into potential charges.”
Pittsfield police released a statement Wednesday night saying they responded at 4:10 p.m. to the 3000 block of Ann Arbor Saline Road “for the purposes of investigating an alleged assault. … A suspect in this case was taken into custody. This incident does not appear to be random in nature, and there appears to be no ongoing threat to the community.
“The suspect was lodged at the Washtenaw County Jail pending review of charges by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor,” the statement continued. “At this time, the investigation is ongoing. Given the nature of the allegations, the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation, and its current status at this time, we are prohibited from releasing additional details.”
Pittsfield police did not name the suspect in its statement.
Earlier, Saline police stated they “assisted in locating and detaining former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore. Mr. Moore was turned over to the Pittsfield Township Police Department for investigation into potential charges.”
Michigan fired Moore on Wednesday following an investigation into his conduct with a staff member.
“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” the school said in a statement. “Following a University investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
Moore, 39, spent two seasons as Michigan’s coach, after serving as the team’s offensive coordinator.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves signed veteran outfielder Mike Yastrzemski to a two-year deal Wednesday that includes a club option for 2028.
The 35-year-old Yastrzemski hit .233 with 17 home runs and 46 RBIs in 146 games last year between San Francisco and Kansas City.
Yastrzemski, who spent the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Giants before being sent to the Royals in July, will make $9 million in 2026 and $10 million in 2027. Atlanta holds a club option for 2028. Yastrzemski will make $7 million if the Braves pick up the option. He will receive a $4 million buyout if they do not.
The versatile Yastrzemski, the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, can play all three outfield positions and is a career .238 hitter. His best season came in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, when he batted .297 with 10 homers in 54 games and finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The New York Yankees made their first selection in a Rule 5 draft since 2011 on Wednesday, taking right-hander Cade Winquest from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Winquest was one of 13 players — and 12 right-handed pitchers — chosen in the major league portion of the draft.
The Rockies took RJ Petit, a 6-foot-8 reliever, with the first pick from the Detroit Tigers. Petit, 26, had a 2.44 ERA in 45 relief appearances and two starts between Double A and Triple A last season. The Minnesota Twins chose the only position player, selecting catcher Daniel Susac from the Athletics.
Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player and must keep him on the active major league roster for the entire following season unless he lands on the injured list. Players taken off the roster must be offered back to the former club for $50,000.
The 25-year-old Winquest recorded a 4.58 ERA with a 48% groundball rate in 106 innings across 25 games, including 23 starts, between Single A and Double A last season. He features a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and touches 98 mph plus a curveball, cutter and sweeper. He is expected to compete for a spot in the Yankees’ bullpen next season.
Right-hander Brad Meyers was the last player the Yankees had chosen in a Rule 5 draft. He suffered a right shoulder injury in spring training and was on the injured list for the entire 2012 season before he was offered back to the Washington Nationals. He never appeared in a major league game.
Also picked were right-hander Jedixson Paez (Colorado from Boston), right-hander Griff McGarry (Washington from Philadelphia), catcher Carter Baumler (Pittsburgh from Baltimore), right-hander Ryan Watson (Athletics from San Francisco), right-hander Matthew Pushard (St. Louis from Miami), right-hander Roddery Munoz (Houston from Cincinnati), right-hander Peyton Pallette (Cleveland from Chicago White Sox), right-hander Spencer Miles (Toronto from San Francisco), right-hander Zach McCambley (Philadelphia from Miami) and right-hander Alexander Alberto (White Sox from Tampa Bay).