Bogaerts’ walk‑off grand slam
Xander Bogaerts delivered a dramatic walk‑off grand slam for the San Diego Padres against the Colorado Rockies — his first career walk‑off homer — after the Padres intentionally walked Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado earlier in the inning. ( ). It was the kind of late‑game swing that flips momentum and gives the Padres a highlight‑reel win. (x.com).
San Diego let Colorado put two stars on base on purpose in the 12th inning, and the gamble ended with Xander Bogaerts launching a grand slam into the left-field seats at Petco Park for a 7-3 Padres win on Thursday, April 9. It was the first walk-off homer of Bogaerts’ Major League Baseball career. (mlb.com, abcnews.com) The inning started with the extra-innings automatic runner rule, which put Jake Cronenworth on second base to open the bottom of the 12th. Fernando Tatis Jr. then dropped a sacrifice bunt that moved Cronenworth to third with one out. (nbcsandiego.com, mlb.com) At that point, Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer chose the force play over the matchup and had Jackson Merrill intentionally walked. After Manny Machado was also intentionally walked, the bases were loaded for Bogaerts. (mlb.com, denverpost.com) That decision can work when a ground ball at an infielder can end the inning, but it leaves no room for a mistake. Rockies reliever Valente Bellozo threw Bogaerts a 1-0 fastball, and Bogaerts turned it into his ninth career grand slam and his second grand slam with San Diego. (abcnews.com, sports.yahoo.com) The swing also ended the Padres’ first walk-off win of the 2026 season and pushed San Diego above.500 at 7-6. Colorado fell to 7-6 and saw its four-game winning streak stop in one pitch. (si.com, abcnews.com) The box score looked ordinary for 11 innings and then got weird fast. The game was tied 3-3 before San Diego scored four runs on the final swing, which is why a walk-off grand slam feels less like a single play and more like someone flipping the stadium lights from dim to blinding. (espn.com, mlb.com) For Bogaerts, the moment landed at a useful time. He is a four-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion, but this was his first career walk-off homer despite more than a decade in the majors. (sports.yahoo.com, abcnews.com) For the Padres, the lasting image was the order of names. Colorado chose to pitch around Merrill and Machado to get to Bogaerts, and Bogaerts ended the game before anyone behind him needed a bat. (mlb.com, denverpost.com)
