The catcher who many thought played his way out of the San Diego Padres' plans at this time last year put them back in the National League's last wild-card spot on Friday night.

In the strongest game of a bounce-back season, Luis Campusano threw out three would-be base stealers and then belted a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to give San Diego a dramatic 3-2 win over the visiting New York Yankees.

Campusano and the Padres aim for a series win in a late-afternoon start on Saturday.

Few would have dared forecast Campusano playing such a pivotal role in spring training. After hitting 15 homers in 140 games as a part-time starter in 2023 and 2024, Campusano got into just 10 games last year and went hitless in 21 at-bats.

But Freddy Fermin, the starter coming into 2026, struggled early and then battled injuries. Campusano, who slugged 25 homers last year at Triple-A El Paso, got back into the lineup and started hitting.

Even though he's missed time with injuries this year, Campusano has played his way back into relevance. While the arrival of prospect Ethan Salas from Triple-A might cut into his innings defensively, it frees up Campusano for designated hitter duties.

"The biggest thing is he's been able to interact with everyone else and not been so tunnel-visioned," Padres manager Craig Stammen said of Campusano. "He feels like a guy who is valued and has a great place in this organization."

Campusano's heroics improved San Diego to 74-67 and gave it a half-game lead on Arizona in the wild-card race. It will try to ride the left arm of Robbie Ray (11-7, 3.14 ERA) to the series win.

Ray pitched six good innings Sunday in his team's 5-4, 11-inning loss at Tampa Bay, yielding three hits and a run while walking three and striking out four. Ray is 2-4 with a 3.89 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees.

Fellow left-hander Carlos Rodon (4-3, 3.20) gets the ball for New York for his first start in a week. He suffered a 6-0 loss to Boston on Aug. 29, permitting three hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Rodon is 2-2 with a 2.27 ERA in five career outings against the Padres.

The Yankees (80-61) lost on two fronts Friday night when Campusano drilled his walkoff homer off Paul Blackburn. They fell four games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East while seeing their lead on Boston for the first wild-card spot drop to 3 ½ games.

There was good news for New York. Star right fielder Aaron Judge took batting practice before Friday night's game. Manager Aaron Boone said it's possible that Judge could be activated next week during a homestand against Colorado and the New York Mets.

Judge, who's been out with a stress fracture in his first right rib since June 5, would prefer to skip a minor league rehab assignment.

"I don't see a point," he said. "Why waste the at-bats?"

Judge was batting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBI before going on the injured list. Depending on the severity of Trent Grisham's hamstring injury that knocked him out of Friday night's game, the Yankees could pivot toward Judge quicker than the anticipated timeline.

--Field Level Media