Padres beat – Walker Buehler, facing the Dodgers for the first time as a Padre, powered San Diego to a 7-1 series-opening win at Petco Park on Friday night—backed by Ty France’s three-run homer and a key relief sequence featuring Yuki Matsui. The night also carried injury c
SAN DIEGO — Friday night at Petco Park had the feel of a rivalry switch flipped.
Walker Buehler spent nearly a decade tormenting the Padres in Dodgers blue. He returned as a Padre, looked across at his former team with a little bite, and delivered a performance that made the transition feel instant.
Facing Los Angeles for the second time and for the first time as a Padre. Buehler led San Diego to a series-opening 7-1 victory over the Dodgers. Ty France sparked the early momentum with a three-run home run, putting the Padres on top early. San Diego added late insurance runs en route to their fourth straight victory.
Even the pregame mood was there. When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he knew Buehler would have something to prove, Buehler didn’t disagree.
“Yeah,” Buehler said. “I want to kick everyone’s [butt]. I want to beat everyone.”
Buehler insisted he holds no ill will toward Los Angeles and that he deeply appreciates the time he spent in Los Angeles. But the competitiveness still mattered.
“I certainly don’t want to lose to them,” Buehler said. “So, yeah. Doc is not wrong.”
Buehler backed it up in a way that didn’t leave much room for debate. He worked 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball, struck out five, and allowed just three hits. Mookie Betts homered off Buehler in the second, but beyond that, the Dodgers struggled to make hard contact. Buehler’s June ERA stands at 1.71 across five starts.
The rivalry history made it sharper. Once, Buehler owned San Diego—winning 6-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 Dodgers starts against the Padres. After Friday, his ledger flipped in this meeting.
“I’m 1-0 against them as a San Diego Padre,” he said with a wry grin.
The only real surprise came at the end of the sixth, and it wasn’t because Buehler had collapsed—it was because San Diego trusted the next step.
With one out in the sixth, Buehler walked Andy Pages. He had thrown only 74 pitches, and the problem wasn’t effort; it was command. Buehler had gone 3-0 on the first two hitters of the inning. and manager Craig Stammen chose to bring in left-hander Yuki Matsui for the lefty-heavy stretch of the Dodgers lineup.
“I kind of understand the decision,” Buehler said. “The misses got a little bit bigger. Back-to-back 3-0 counts isn’t the most confidence-instilling thing to a manager.”
Matsui entered and didn’t just stabilize the moment—he escaped it. Freddie Freeman doubled off the wall, putting Matsui and the Padres in a tricky situation. Stammen then intentionally walked Betts, loading the bases. Matsui retired Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker to end the threat, and the Padres kept their two-run lead intact.
“As a relief pitcher, that’s what you strive for,” Matsui said through interpreter Ike Ogata. “Ultimately, that’s the entire reason to compete at this level, in these situations. That’s the reason I came over here from Japan.”
Stammen explained why the move made sense inside the bullpen plan.
“He’s been just nails. We had him in a long-relief, low-leverage role, and he’s worked his way into facing 3-4-5-6 for the Dodgers.”
For the seventh and eighth innings, Stammen went back to his high-leverage options—Jason Adam for the seventh and Adrian Morejon for the eighth. After a four-run bottom of the eighth, closer Mason Miller was able to take the night off.
France’s big night—and a bruise that matters
The same Padres offense that found its way early through France also carried a jolt in the middle of the game.
A year ago, in 138 games between Minnesota and Toronto, France hit seven home runs. It isn’t July yet, but on Friday he had already launched his 10th homer of the season.
France took Roki Sasaki deep in the bottom of the second inning for a three-run blast that gave San Diego an early 3-1 lead. It was France’s fourth home run in the past week.
But the swing that made headlines didn’t last as cleanly as the scoreboard.
In his next trip to the plate, France was plunked in the left wrist by a 98.9 mph Sasaki fastball. There was a long delay while France lay on the ground in obvious pain, and even after he remained in the game, he was lifted in the ninth with the Padres leading by six.
Stammen said France seemed to be okay initially, but that he felt it again on a slide late in the game. His status moving forward is uncertain, and he’s expected to undergo X-rays either Friday night or Saturday morning.
The timing is difficult for San Diego. Stammen said the Padres can ill afford any sort of injury to France, given how important he has been this season. France owns an .810 OPS and has been one of the team’s most valuable defenders.
“He’s had some clutch hits for us, he’s had some big home runs,” Stammen said. “Just when our offense is struggling, he’s come up with the big hit. Tonight was no different.”
Walker Buehler San Diego Padres Los Angeles Dodgers Ty France Yuki Matsui Petco Park Mason Miller Roki Sasaki Freddie Freeman Mookie Betts Max Muncy Kyle Tucker Jason Adam Adrian Morejon Craig Stammen
7-1 is wild. Dodgers forgot how to hit or what?
Ty France hitting a three-run homer while Buehler is on the mound is just brutal. Also Petco is always weird with the air so idk, seems like an automatic Padres win sometimes.
Buehler “stuns” them again lol I thought he’d be friendly with his old team though. But then it says he wants to kick everyone’s butt so… which is it? Like if he appreciates LA then why he acting like it’s a playoff.
I’m confused by the whole Buehler-as-a-Padre thing because didn’t he just play them like last week? And what even is Yuki Matsui’s role here, like closer closer? Also Mookie Betts homering doesn’t sound “struggled” enough to me, but okay. Dodgers injuries maybe? I didn’t read the whole article.