Samad Taylor’s first career home run, 5 total by Padres overpower Orioles
· Yahoo Sports
It was another quick start for the Padres, as with a four-run first inning and a season-high five home runs, San Diego was able to outpace and out-slug the Baltimore Orioles in a 8-3 win on Saturday evening at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
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Samad Taylor hit his first career home run as part of a 3-for-5, three RBI afternoon for the Padres (36-33), backing up a five inning start by Randy Vásquez. Pete Alonso homered for the second game in a row and had a double for two RBI for Baltimore (34-38), who had a winning streak halted at three for the fifth time.
San Diego jumped all over rookie starter Trey Gibson from the get-go, as Jackson Merrill and Taylor each hit two-run home runs that cashed in Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts after drawing walks. Merrill has homered in four straight road series and 11 of his last 12 RBI have come as a visitor.
Taylor’s home run was his first in the Majors, a 407-foot blast to straight away center on a 2-2 sweeper that hung over the heart of the plate. More importantly, it came with two outs and made it the Brown and Gold’s highest scoring opening inning of the season.
But Baltimore was able to claw back a pair their first time up, as Pete Alonso hit a two-out home run and Leody Taveras hit a triple that scored Samuel Basallo after a walk.
Both pitchers settled in after the rocky start, and the only RISP situation until the fifth inning came in the Orioles third, when a wild pitch on a third strike to Taveras got between Freddy Fermin’s legs and ricocheted away off the brick back wall to put men on first and second. But Vásquez was able to induce a flyout.
Then in the fifth Merrill drew a leadoff walk and then Manny Machado was able to beat out a potential double-play, getting there in time after the Padres challenged the outs at both bases. Then Bogaerts took a 93.5 mph sinker off the earhole of his helmet, which got the Padres dugout hot and ended Gibson’s afternoon.
Gavin Sheets then drew a walk off reliever Keegan Akin to load the bases, and Taylor blooped a fly to shallow right for an RBI single. Nick Solak, who was brought up from Triple-A El Paso as part of a roster move announced earlier in the day, followed up by hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Bogaerts.
Vásquez was steady after the early two-spot, finishing with six hits allowed and five strikeouts to go with two walks. It was his sixth win, which snapped a string of four consecutive starts without securing one.
Sheets added a solo home run in the seventh inning for his 11th of the year, which was his third hit of the series that has seen him drive in a trio of runs.
Fermin left the game before the bottom of the sixth, as while Yuki Matsui was warming up a spiked pitch bounced up and caught the catcher on the side of the head. He was replaced by Rodolfo Durán, the second defensive change ahead of the inning as Sung-Mun Song replaced Bogaerts.
Durán homered in his only at-bat of the game in the eighth for his second long ball, then Machado crunched his 12th of the season in the ninth. The last time San Diego hit five home runs was on May 10, 2025 at Colorado.
Yuki Matsui allowed a hit and struck out a pair in the sixth, then Bradgley Rodriguez allowed a walk and an Alonso RBI double in the seventh. Jason Adam allowed a hit in the eighth, and Ron Marinaccio was ejected after hitting Gunnar Henderson with a pitch — Stammen was also given the boot for arguing with the umpires afterward. Adrian Morejon got the final out of the game.
Gibson was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits and five walks to go with seven strikeouts in his fourth MLB start and took his second loss.
Prior to the game Miguel Andujar was placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain, retroactive to June 11, and selected the contract of Solak. In 54 games with the Chihuahuas, where he was listed as a first baseman, Solak was slashing .333/.412/.512 with nine home runs and a team-high 40 RBI.
The series finale will see Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.33 ERA) face Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers (3-6, 6.15 ERA), who has pitched through the fifth inning in each of his past three starts. First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. PT.