Good morning, San Diego Padres fans! It's May 10, 2026, and we've got plenty of MLB action to break down from last night's showdown at Petco Park. The Padres managed to squeak out a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, but it wasn't the cleanest win you'll ever see—and that's putting it lightly.

The game started off exactly how manager Craig Stammen drew it up. Rookie starter Randy Vasquez was dealing, tossing five solid innings of one-run ball while scattering six hits, walking none, and striking out six. Jeremiah Estrada and Jason Adam followed with scoreless sixth and seventh innings, respectively, setting the stage for a smooth finish. The plan was simple: Adrian Morejon handles the eighth, then hands the ball to fireballer Mason Miller for the ninth. Simple, right? Not quite.

Morejon ran into trouble in the eighth. He hit JJ Weatherholt with a pitch, putting a runner on with one out, then allowed a double to Ivan Herrera that cut the Padres' lead to just one run. After getting Alec Burleson to ground out for the second out, Stammen had seen enough. He called on Miller for a rare four-out save, and the hard-throwing righty delivered—getting Jordan Walker, one of the hottest hitters in the Cardinals lineup, to ground out and strand the tying run at second base.

Then came the insurance San Diego desperately needed. Manny Machado launched a one-out solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the eighth, pushing the lead to 4-2. But the drama was far from over.

Miller returned for the ninth and looked, well, human for a moment. He walked the leadoff batter, struck out the next, then walked another to put runners at first and second. He then struck out his second batter of the inning, but a passed ball by catcher Freddy Fermin allowed the runner to reach first safely, loading the bases with two outs. With the game on the line, Miller faced Weatherholt and froze him with a fastball right down the middle for his fourth strikeout of the inning—yes, four strikeouts in one inning—securing the save and the win.

Earlier in the game, Ty France got the scoring started with a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to tie things up at 1-1. And Fernando Tatis Jr. came up with a clutch hit later, but it was Machado and Miller who stole the show. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and the Padres will take it as they look to build momentum in the early season.