In a surprising turn of events at Petco Park, the San Diego Padres suffered their first home shutout of the season, falling 4-0 to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night. This loss marks the team's fourth straight defeat and fifth in their last six games—a stark contrast to their explosive April performance.
Just last month, the Padres posted the sixth-highest slugging rate and fourth-most home runs in franchise history for April. But on Saturday, San Diego's bats went silent, failing to record a single extra-base hit. It was only the second time this season the Padres (19-13) managed nothing but singles, the first coming in the third game of the year.
The Padres mounted their best threat in the ninth inning, loading the bases against White Sox reliever Grant Taylor. Jackson Merrill led off with a single, followed by walks from Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts. But the rally stalled when Gavin Sheets struck out on a controversial 2-2 backdoor curveball that was initially called a ball before being overturned on an ABS challenge. Closer Seranthony Domínguez entered and shut the door, getting Miguel Andujar to fly out and striking out Luis Campusano—again aided by an ABS challenge win that set up an 0-2 count for the save.
Earlier in the game, the Padres had two prime scoring opportunities in the second and fifth innings, putting runners on first and second with just one out. But Chicago starter Sean Burke escaped both times. In the second, a walk to Sheets and a single from Andujar went to waste after Campusano struck out and Jake Cronenworth grounded out. In the fifth, Andujar singled again, and Cronenworth added a one-out knock, but Ramón Laureano flew out and Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out on high heat after a mound visit.
Padres starter Michael King kept the White Sox in check through the first five innings, allowing no runner past first base. Campusano threw out Colson Montgomery attempting to steal in the second, and the defense turned double plays to escape the third and fifth innings.
The White Sox finally broke through in the sixth. Tristan Peters drew a one-out walk, and Andrew Benintendi executed a perfect bunt down the third-base line, beating the shift to spark Chicago's rally. The White Sox (16-17) capitalized in the later innings, handing San Diego a tough loss at home.