Fansided

The 5 greatest individual games in San Diego Padres history

By Kevin Henry |
Ryan Klesko of the San Diego Padres
Ryan Klesko of the San Diego Padres / Jeff Gross/GettyImages
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In the history of the San Diego Padres, there have been plenty of amazing games and accomplishments. However, these five games from five different individuals stand out above the rest.

For this article, we dug into the archives to look at which members of the Padres through the years have done the most damage against an opposing pitcher. On five different occasions, there was a San Diego batter who totaled 13 bases in a single game, so we're using that as our yardstick to measure greatness. We will also start our countdown with the game that happened longest ago.

San Diego Padres greatest game: Steve Finley, June 23, 1997 at San Francisco

In the opener of a three-game series at what was then known as 3Com Park, Finley, batting behind Rickey Henderson in the order, went 4-for-5 with four RBI and scored four runs as part of San Diego's 11-6 victory.

Finley homered in the first, seventh, and ninth innings, taking three different Giants pitchers deep. Wally Joyner added two home runs to push the power-hitting Padres to the win.

Additionally, Finley walked in the second and singled in the fifth to help etch his name into the San Diego record books.

Ryan Klesko of the San Diego Padres
Ryan Klesko of the San Diego Padres / Todd Warshaw/GettyImages

San Diego Padres greatest game: Ryan Klesko, August 29, 2001 at St. Louis

During his lone All-Star season with the Padres in 2001, Klesko put together one of the best offensive performances in San Diego history in a steamy slugfest under the Gateway Arch.

St. Louis would post a 16-14 win that would carry with it accusations of Klesko corking his bat after the slugger went 5-for-6 with a pair of home runs, a pair of doubles, and five RBI. His second-inning home run was blasted 472 feet, which, at the time, was the longest by an opposing player since home runs began being measured at Busch Stadium in 1988.

It was his home run in the ninth inning, however, off Cardinals closer Dave Veres that caused the pitcher to accuse Klesko of corking his bat. The accusation was proven not to be true.

San Diego Padres greatest game: Hunter Renfroe, June 14, 2019, at Colorado

You knew a Coors Field game had to be in here somewhere, right? Well, Renfroe came through in a big way at a mile high in a 16-12 Padres win that was capped by a five-run 12th inning where Renfroe hit one of his three home runs.

This game featured 28 runs and 39 hits, and Renfroe would add his part to those totals, going 4-for-7 with five RBI and four runs scored. He would also play a big role in San Diego sending the game to extra innings as the Padres plated six runs in the ninth to knot the game. Renfroe hit a two-run homer as part of that rally.

San Diego Padres center fielder Trent Grisham
San Diego Padres center fielder Trent Grisham / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres greatest game: Trent Grisham, August 22, 2020, vs. Houston

In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, with no fans at Petco Park, Grisham did something that no other Padres player had done in San Diego before by totaling 13 bases in a 13-2 blowout of the Astros.

Grisham, batting leadoff, went 4-for-5 with six RBI and scored three runs to pace the offense. He led off the San Diego first with a home run, then followed it the next inning with a three-run blast. Grisham added a two-run shot in the seventh and singled in the third to etch his name in the San Diego record book.

San Diego Padres greatest game: Fernando Tatis Jr., June 25, 2021, vs. Arizona

El Niño is the most recent Padres player to total 13 bases in a game, hitting three home runs while going 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored in an 11-5 win over the visiting Diamondbacks.

Tatis blasted home runs in each of his first three plate appearances, then singled in the seventh. The only time Arizona could get him out was on a grounder in the eighth inning.

He has only logged double-digit bases in one other game so far in his career, and that was also against Arizona, accounting for 11 on a visit to the desert on August 15, 2021.

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