Yanks Top Padres 5-1

By Andrew Hefner

September 6, 2026

***

The Big Story

The New York Yankees picked up a huge bounce-back win Saturday night over the San Diego Padres 5-1 as they continue to push their way towards a potential first-place finish in the American League East.

Carlos Rodon, still relatively recently back from injury, took the mound and worked into and out of trouble in the first, before completing one of his best starts of the season. His seven strikeouts tonight tie his season-high, and his one run surrendered came via a solo home run by Padres slugger Manny Machado. The win improves his season record to 5-3 after five innings of work.

The Padres pitching did not fare quite as well as former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray took the mound and only picked up seven outs before being forced out by a strong Yankees offensive showing. Ray picks up all five earned runs, with San Diego’s bullpen doing a good job to limit the damage after he departed. He falls to 11-8 on the season.

The Yankees struck first in the second with Spencer Jones continuing to make a splash in his hometown series by ripping an RBI double to right field that scored Ben Rice. Jones grew up and attended high school in the San Diego area before committing to and playing at Vanderbilt. He later added another hit and finished the night 2-for-4 with one RBI.

Later in the second, Goldschmidt walked with the bases loaded to extend the lead, before Bellinger pulled a single to right to add another two runs and cap off the inning with a 4-0 Yankees lead. The final Yankees run came thanks to a George Lombard Jr. sacrifice fly just one inning later to cap the scoring for the night at five.

Despite the five runs of offense, the Yankees still stranded 12 men on base and went 2-10 with runners in scoring position, continuing one of their less encouraging trends this season.

Aaron Boone also made numerous changes to the lineup throughout the evening as Amed Rosario departed after just three innings of play and three at-bats to create a better lefty-righty pitcher-hitter matchup with Ryan McMahon entering the game in his place. Luis Garcia Jr. also came in late as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded, as well as Jason Dominguez, who was just called up to replace the injured Trent Grisham.

Two former Yankees pitchers pitched for the Padres last night as New York’s old setup man Wandy Peralta made an appearance, as well as Jhony Brito. The Padres utilized four pitchers from the bullpen to get through 6.2 innings.

The Yankees bullpen was excellent as usual, with Michael Fulmer, Brent Headrick, John Schreiber, and finally Tim Hill working their way through the final four innings of play to secure the win.

Player of the Game

Ben Rice continues to get hot as he reached base five times last night, a new career high. Rice remains third in the home run rankings and is batting .349 with a .962 OPS over his last 16 games.

Final Line: 3-3, 2 BB, 2 R

Notable Performances

Paul Goldschmidt: 1-4, RBI

Cody Bellinger: 1-5, 2 RBI

Heliot Ramos: 1-2, BB

Spencer Jones: 2-4, RBI, R

Carlos Rodon: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Brent Headrick: 1.1 IP, 2 K, Hold

Better to Forget

Amed Rosario: 0-3, K

Austin Wells: 0-3: Error

My Take

As September begins, every game counts more and more. The loss in game one of this series was brutal considering how well the Yankees have been doing at clawing back at the Tampa Bay Rays night in and night out. The Rays unfortunately picked up a win of their own in extras on Saturday night, so no new ground is made up, but the win helps nevertheless with a four-game series coming up later this month.

Spencer Jones needs to be a starter in the postseason lineup. Aaron Boone himself said he is loving what he is seeing from the young outfielder right now, and Jones has clearly made the adjustments necessary to be successful at the major league level. He is an incredible hitter, and there is no doubt in my mind that he can and will make a difference when it counts. He has been a favorite of mine since he entered the organization, and I really do hope that he becomes a star for years to come.

Ben Rice is such an incredible asset to have this season, and with Aaron Judge likely returning to the lineup in just a few weeks, Rice’s ability to get on base as he has over the last couple of games will greatly benefit the Yankees.

The sky's the limit at this point, and I believe that there is a strong chance the Yankees can take the division come the end of the season. The pitching is there, and consistency is returning to some of the stars of this lineup that the Yankees so badly missed throughout the dog days of the last few months.

Next Up

The Yankees will look to win the series over the Padres on the road, with the first pitch coming at 4:10 on YES. Gerrit Cole will take the mound and face off against former Yankees breakout star Michael King.