Nestor Cortes shines in Padres debut against Dodgers, guiding San Diego to 5-1 win and the NL West lead
Nestor Cortes faced down memories of a famous October moment and delivered a standout performance for the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, pitching six brilliant innings of one-hit ball in a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The win put the Padres in sole possession of first place in the National League West.
Cortes carried a perfect game into the sixth, stunning the Dodgers with a mix of off-speed and a maximum velocity below 93 mph. He didn’t walk a batter, struck out three, and teamed with three relievers to finish a two-hitter. The Dodgers finally cracked the string of outs when Miguel Rojas lined a one-out single in the sixth. Cortes regrouped to fan Shohei Ohtani for the third time on a fly ball to end the frame and his night.
This was Cortes’s fourth start for San Diego since the trade deadline, a move that has reshaped a Padres rotation already buzzing with depth. The Padres acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers on July 31 in a flurry of deals aimed at bolstering a playoff push. Cortes, who was traded from the Yankees to Milwaukee last winter in a package for closer Devin Williams, had previously battled an elbow injury that sidelined him for four months after a pair of Brewers starts.
Even with limited time to mesh with his new teammates, Cortes looked right at home at Petco Park in front of a sellout crowd. He appeared to quickly find a rhythm that manager Mike Shildt called “tremendous,” noting that once Cortes gets rolling, he can be difficult to line up against.
“Obviously, there’s a history,” Cortes said, alluding to the walk-off grand slam Freddie Freeman hit off him in the World Series years earlier. “There’s a memory there. It sucks as a player to go through those moments, but baseball gives you another opportunity. When it comes, you try to make the most of it, and that’s what I did today.”
The result was a resounding affirmation for a Padres club that has treated Cortes as a valuable addition to a lineup capable of competing deep into the season. Cortes stressed the chemistry and resilience within the clubhouse, praising a group that battles together and remains focused on winning.
With the victory, San Diego pulled ahead of Los Angeles and strengthened its positioning in the division race, adding momentum to a season that has already featured high-powered runs and a pitching staff capable of delivering night after night. Cortes’s early success in San Diego offers teams a reminder of the value of midseason acquisitions who can quickly blend into a winning culture and elevate a veteran rotation when it counts.
Summary: Cortes delivered six innings of one-hit, no-walk ball against the Dodgers, carrying a perfect game into the sixth and helping the Padres surge to a 5-1 win to seize the NL West lead. His work, paired with a patient, resilient Padres clubhouse and an effective bullpen, signals a promising chapter as San Diego looks to extend its strong run down the stretch.