Austin Wells grand slam caps off 10-run 7th inning as Yankees top Padres

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on May 6, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — As the Yankees pursued a Juan Soto trade with the Padres two offseasons ago, Clarke Schmidt and Michael King each saw their names in rumors.

The pinstriped teammates figured either could be dealt, but the Padres ultimately insisted on King after he transitioned from the bullpen to the Yankees’ rotation down the stretch in 2023. He served as the Padres’ centerpiece in the seven-player swap, which brought Soto and Trent Grisham to New York.

“When we were going through that trade for Juan, it took a few extra days as we tried to keep Michael out of it,” Aaron Boone said of his former pupil. “He’s ascended to one of the top starters in the game.”

With that in mind, it made sense that the Bombers’ bats didn’t break out until King was removed from Tuesday’s game, a 12-3 victory for the Yankees.

With the righty no longer pitching in the seventh, Austin Wells played a central part in a 10-run frame, tying the game at three with an RBI single off Adrian Morejon. He then crushed a grand slam off former batterymate Wandy Peralta before the inning could end.

In between the catcher’s output, Trent Grisham worked a go-ahead, bases-loaded walk, Ben Rice picked up a two-run double, and Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe added RBI singles.

The sudden offensive explosion wasted a strong return to Yankee Stadium for King, who tallied six innings and two earned runs. He also ended up with three hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

One of the runs King surrendered came on Aaron Judge’s 12th home run of the season. That fourth-inning blast tied the Yankees captain with Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead.

That same frame included a Jasson Domínguez single, which allowed Bellinger to score from first after an ill-advised throw from Fernando Tatis Jr. bounced into the camera well behind third base.

Meanwhile, the Padres scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning when Schmidt was called for a balk with the bases loaded. The righty, unhappy with the call, didn’t come to a set. San Diego then made it a 2-0 game on a Jason Heyward sac fly.

Schmidt, making just his fourth start after nagging injuries delayed his season debut, went six innings for the first time this year. He totaled seven hits, two earned runs, one walk, four strikeouts and 85 pitches.

The Padres plated another run in the seventh on a Tatis double, but the Yankees were moments away from ambushing the Padres’ bullpen, which entered the game with a major league-leading 1.68 ERA.

With the Yankees’ bombardment tying the series, Max Fried will get a chance to face the team that drafted him on Wednesday, as San Diego spent the seventh pick in the 2012 draft on the southpaw before trading him to Atlanta two years later.

Fried has been sensational thus far, recording a 1.01 ERA over his first seven starts with the Yankees, who are undefeated when he pitches.

Dylan Cease will start for San Diego. He’s off to a rough start this season, registering a 5.61 ERA through seven outings.