Padres catch timely break before Diamondbacks finale after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. release

Despite what 2026 has made of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Padres fans remember the swing. On Aug. 5, 2025, Mason Miller threw him a 103.9 mph fastball. Gurriel launched it 439 feet to left-center for a game-tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning. No pitch that fast had ever been hit for a home run during the pitch-tracking era.

It was Gurriel’s second homer of the night. The Padres eventually won 10-5 in 11 innings. Miller answered the following night by striking out Gurriel with a slider while earning his first save with the Padres. So, though Gurriel punished them, the scoreboard did most of the talking in that series. The image of that fastball getting launched into orbit still belongs to Gurriel.

Now the Diamondbacks have officially released him. He won’t be in Arizona’s lineup when the Padres and Diamondbacks close the regular season with three games at Petco Park. With San Diego tied with the Cubs and Phillies at 85-69 across the three NL Wild Card spots entering Saturday, that’s nothing to shrug off. It’s also not a massive win, but we’ll take what we can get.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. always seemed comfortable against the Padres

The career numbers are disturbingly good. Gurriel has slashed .307/.329/.536 with eight home runs and 28 RBI in 41 games against San Diego. Plenty of hitters have enjoyed a productive series against the Padres. Gurriel seemed to love every opportunity he had. However, his damage was quieter this season. Gurriel recorded a .622 OPS in six games against San Diego, well below his usual standard. That tracks with the rest of his year.

Arizona had a clear baseball reason to move on. Gurriel returned from ACL surgery to slash .210/.254/.290 with two home runs in 201 plate appearances. A hamstring strain and an adductor injury interrupted an already difficult comeback. The Diamondbacks ultimately valued the roster spot more than another week of waiting for his bat to come around, even with a $5 million option buyout coming.

The Padres should gladly pocket every available advantage

Entering Saturday, the Padres were five games ahead of Arizona with eight remaining. The Diamondbacks’ Wild Card elimination number had fallen to four. The Padres had also won nine of their previous 10 games, turning what recently looked like a desperate fight for the final playoff berth into a three-team race for Wild Card positioning.

The work isn’t done, though. Two games against Miami remain before a three-game trip to Dodger Stadium and the closing series against Arizona. There is enough danger packed into the schedule without spending energy creating hypothetical comfort.

The Padres need to keep winning. The cleanest way to use Arizona’s instability is to make the final series irrelevant to their postseason survival.

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