Soto's multihomer effort not enough vs. Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Whether at altitude or at sea level, Juan Soto can be relied upon to crush baseballs.

The star outfielder continued to show he's working back toward his full potential with the 13th multi-homer game of his career in the Padres' 7-4 loss in 10 innings to the Giants on Monday at Oracle Park.

As the Padres and Giants met for the first time since their electric two-game set in Mexico City, Soto wasted no time in putting his team on the board, depositing a 1-1 slider from San Francisco opener Ryan Walker into the left-field bleachers for a solo shot in the first inning.

Soto's second homer -- this one coming against Keaton Winn in the top of the fifth -- landed in almost exactly the same spot, marking the second time in his career he's hit two opposite-field blasts in the same game.

"That's what he does," manager Bob Melvin said. "I think he's feeling pretty good about himself, driving the ball the other way. That's kind of what he's been waiting for and we've been waiting for."

When Soto is right at the plate, he's spraying the ball in all directions. His pair of opposite-field blasts on Monday bumped his career tally up to 44 -- six more than any other left-handed batter since 2018.

Soto has looked more like himself of late, and his opposite-field power may have something to do with it. He has hit three home runs out to left field this season, but his first one didn't come until June 14.

"All the work that I've been doing," he said, "it's coming through."

Though Soto impressed with his multi-homer showing, it was ultimately not enough to overcome a shorthanded bullpen that was without its top high-leverage arms.

With the back-end trio of Steven Wilson, Nick Martinez and Josh Hader unavailable after covering the final three innings in each of the Padres' previous two games, Melvin was forced to turn elsewhere to close things out.

Tim Hill turned in two scoreless frames in relief of Michael Wacha, but Luis García and Drew Carlton could not get the job done in the ninth inning. Ray Kerr then entered and struck out Joc Pederson to send the game to extras, but he gave up a walk-off three-run blast to Mike Yastrzemski in the 10th.

The Giants continued their hot streak with their eighth straight win, while the Padres fell to 0-6 in extra innings this season.

"We've struggled in these types of games," Melvin said. "We used our three guys to close out the last couple days, so we knew we'd be in for it. Wacha pitched great. We had some innings to cover. Timmy did a great job. We just couldn't close it out."

San Diego left a pair stranded in the 10th as the team's season-long struggles with situational hitting persisted. In all, the Padres left eight men on base and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. That one hit belonged to Ha-Seong Kim, who drove in two on a single in the fourth inning as part of his 3-for-4 showing.

"We had our own momentum as well, coming into this game," Kim said in Korean through interpreter Leo Bae. "We were looking for a really good matchup, but obviously it didn't go the way that we wanted. We still have three games left, and we're trying to win all three."

Given his relatively slow start to the season, Soto understands how frustration in one aspect of the game can compound and leech into other areas. But letting go of that feeling can be easier said than done.

"When you're doing well, you don't even think about it. You just go out there and swing the bat," Soto said. "But whenever you're doing bad, it gets in your mind. Even when you don't want to think about it, it's right there."