The San Diego Padres got their first series win in a while as they took the rubber game against the Orioles.
The San Diego Padres won the rubber game of their series against the Orioles, 5-2, as they continued their turnaround with a solid start from Walker Buehler and some unexpected power from backup catcher Rodolfo Duran.
The scoring started when the Padres lucked into a flukey run in the top of the second, as Samad Taylor bunted his way on and Duran bounced a ground ball off second base for a double. Fernando Tatis Jr. added to their lead with a seeing-eye single up the middle to get Duran home and give San Diego a 2-0 lead.
Buehler held that lead through the fifth when the Orioles got on the board via a solo home run by Jeremiah Jackson. That homer ended Buehler’s day, as he gave the Padres five innings of one-run baseball while scattering six hits and striking out five.
Next up was reliever Bradgley Rodriguez, and he shut down the Birds unitl the seventh, when the Padres got some unexpected offense in the form of a two-run homer by Duran, who plated Will Wagner after Wagner walked.
That made it 4-1, and it gave San Diego a cushion when the Orioles came back with a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Gunnar Henderson off Jason Adam to cut the lead to 4-2.
Henderson gave that run back in the ninth, however, as he committed two errors in three hitters. That scored Will Wagner, who reached on Henderson’s first error, and Wagner scored on the second miscue via a botched ground ball from Duran.
For a moment it looked like Wagner had been thrown out at the plate on a fly ball to Jackson in right, but the Padres challenged the call and got the run when Wagner was ruled safe to make it 5-2.
Adrian Morejon picked up Adam with a scoreless inning and a third, and manager Craig Stammen brought on Mason Miller, who hadn’t pitched in four days, for a four-out save. Miller got the final out of the eighth on a strikeout, and he struck out two more hitters in the ninth to win the game and give the Padres a series win as well.
The win restored order for San Diego after their long, disappointing stretch, and it also helped in the standings as the Padres have put a little distance between themselves and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Padres have to feel good about finally getting their offense going, as both Tatis and Jackson Merrill had two-hit games to go with Duran’s surprising output, which had him getting two hits and driving in three runs while scoring two.
San Diego now heads west to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in another three-game set, and they’ll send Lucas Giolito to the mound against Dustin May tomorrow night.
