MIAMI -- Last year, there was the home run chain. This year, it¡¯s been the polaroids. On Wednesday afternoon in Miami, there was a new addition to the Padres¡¯ home run celebration: a large black panther statue.

The statue, which has lived in the Padres¡¯ clubhouse and been taken care of on road trips by its ¡°handler,¡± reliever Robert Suarez, made its first appearance in the dugout during San Diego¡¯s 10-3 victory at loanDepot park.?

¡°I don't even know where it came from, it just showed up one day,¡± said Jake Cronenworth, who hit a grand slam in the first inning to give the Padres a lead they never relinquished. After the slam, the second of Cronenworth¡¯s career, he posed with the big cat for his home run polaroid.

¡°We were trying to bring a new spark in the clubhouse, and Feisty Tom seemed to have a little bit of that in him,¡± said starting pitcher Mike Clevinger, who allowed three runs on six hits and four walks over 4 1/3 innings.

It was Sean Manaea who dubbed the panther Feisty Tom, and it was likely Manaea (according to Cronenworth) who was responsible for Tom being in the dugout for Wednesday¡¯s matinee.

Manaea denied that he had anything to do with Tom¡¯s appearance.

¡°No no, not me,¡± he said. ¡°He just showed up [in the dugout] honestly. I walked out there [today] and he was out there, I was like, 'Feisty Tom, what's up?' That's his name, at least that's what I keep calling him.

¡°First name that came to my head. Usually, that's how I name things, you know, comes from the heart. [Cats, they] like to be secretive at times, and today he just wanted to smell the fresh Miami air.¡±

Wednesday was a fitting time for the big cat and potential spark plug to make an appearance. Cronenworth¡¯s slam marked the first lead the Padres had held over the Marlins in the three-game series and was the highlight of an inning filled with the offensive prowess seemingly absent from the first two games of the set.

It started with back-to-back singles from Juan Soto -- who extended his on-base streak to 22 games -- and Manny Machado, who had his eighth multi-hit game in a row. Then Josh Bell gave a masterclass in patience, loading the bases after he fouled off a fastball on a 3-2 count, then took a high four-seamer for the two-out walk. Then, the Crone Zone.

¡°[The early lead] proved to be worth it today for sure,¡± Clevinger said. ¡°But yeah, it always gives you a little peace of mind, lets you kind of try to attack the zone a little bit more. I was just having a little bit of issue finding the zone today.¡±

Clevinger¡¯s issues finding the zone -- which account for the righty recording just one strikeout on the night -- didn¡¯t matter much thanks to the lead Crone handed him before he even took the mound. Plus, Clevinger had some help from the bullpen.

Adrian Morejon struck out a pair after loading the bases with a hit-by-pitch when he entered in the fifth. Four relievers (including Morejon) combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings, and allowed just one hit, which came in the seventh vs. Suarez.

Suarez allowed a leadoff single to Jon Berti before striking out a pair and inducing a groundout to get out of the seventh unscathed. That was the Marlins¡¯ only attempt at a rally, and it was squashed as quickly as it started.

The Padres weren¡¯t quieted so easily, stringing together hits and walks in the top of the ninth following a leadoff double from Bell, who entered the game 0-for-his-past-23. A few batters later, and with the bases loaded, Ha-Seong Kim hit a bases-clearing double.

¡°All those things [especially walks] ended up maybe not being the sexiest thing in the box score, but ended up providing us better at-bats and more production after that,¡± manager Bob Melvin said.

When asked about the big cat he¡¯s responsible for, Suarez said that had no idea how it got into the dugout or where it came from.

¡°I don't really believe in luck,¡± Suarez said via an interpreter. ¡°But you know, if the other guys think it brings us good luck, then I will make sure to take care of it.¡±

¡°Feisty Tom comes on board and just, you know, it's a good presence in the dugout,¡± Manaea said, though he wouldn¡¯t pick up the panther for a picture when asked by a reporter.

¡°I don¡¯t really mess with big cats like that.¡±