SAN DIEGO — The Padres scored a run, and Nick Martinez made sure it mattered.
Juan Soto hit a home run in the fourth inning, Martinez worked seven scoreless innings and a 1-0 victory over the Braves concluded a dismal homestand and the portion of the Padres' season that Fernando Tatis Jr. could only watch.
A good Wednesday all around, as the Padres stopped a losing streak at three games and Tatis concluded his 80-game PED suspension.
He will be in the starting lineup Thursday in Arizona. For the first time since the end of the 2021 season, one of baseball's most exciting and productive players will be in right field and almost certainly batting leadoff for the Padres.
Because the three players the Padres have had in every lineup so far, a trio widely considered among MLB's most exciting and productive players, have been unable to do any better than get the Padres to 9-11 while Tatis served out the final 20 games of last August's sanction.
One those players did provide the difference Wednesday with a 431-foot home run well beyond the right field wall.
Soto has driven in the Padres' only runs this week.
Unlike his fielder's choice grounder that scored Trent Grisham with a somewhat gratuitous run in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 8-1 loss — stopping a 25-inning scoreless streak — Tuesday's blast gave the Padres their first lead of the three-game series.
They lost 1-0 to the Brewers on Sunday and 2-0 to the Braves on Monday.
Martinez was in trouble just once, when the Braves loaded the bases with one out on two singles and a walk in the third inning. He got No.2 hitter Matt Olson to pop out and struck out Austin Riley.
Martinez went seven innings just once last season. Wednesday was his second time doing so in four starts this season. He allowed five runs while going that deep on March 31. This time, he got through seven innings without allowing a run for just the second time in his career. The previous time was April 9, 2015, while he was with the Texas Rangers.
Martinez allowed just three hits and struck out six and retired the final 12 batters he faced Tuesday.
Luis Garcia got the first two outs of the seventh inning, leaving a runner at second base to Tim Hill. The left-hander got the final out of the inning before Josh Hader worked around a lead-off walk to earn his fifth save.
The Padres finished the homestand 2-5.
