San Diego Padres vs. Baltimore Orioles Pick & Prediction JULY 28th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The San Diego Padres will attempt to conclude an already impressive road trip on a positive note as they aim for a three-game series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon.
San Diego has had a strong start to the second half of the season, going 5-1 on the road against the Cleveland Guardians and Washington Nationals before facing Baltimore. The Padres then defeated the Orioles 6-4 on Friday and followed it up with a 9-4 victory on Saturday.
After losing their first game after the All-Star break to Cleveland, San Diego has now won seven consecutive games.
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"It has been on display," commented Padres manager Mike Shildt on the team's talent. "It starts off that mound."
Prior to the break, the Padres' longest winning streak this season was five games.
Meanwhile, the Orioles have been struggling, losing five of their last six games. They are at risk of being swept in a home series for the second time this month, after the Chicago Cubs took three games from them from July 9-11.
"There's some frustration that we haven't seen here in a couple years, honestly," said Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde. "It's some adversity and we've just got to battle and wake up (Sunday) and stay positive and know the capabilities of our team and how well we played the first three months and keep going."
Despite their recent struggles, the Orioles still hold the top spot in the American League East and have the second-best record in the entire AL.
"Obviously it's not going our way right now," said Baltimore All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson. "But, I mean, we feel like we've got the right mindset. It's just getting over that hump, and once we do that, I feel like we'll be in a good spot."
On Sunday, right-hander Randy Vasquez (3-5, 4.17 ERA) will take the mound for the Padres in his 15th start of the season.
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Vasquez is looking to secure back-to-back wins after defeating the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. He pitched six-plus innings in that game, keeping the Nationals scoreless while allowing five hits.
In his previous start against Baltimore on July 5, 2023, Vasquez received a no-decision. He gave up three hits and kept the Orioles off the board for five innings.
Baltimore will counter with right-hander Albert Suarez (5-4, 3.48 ERA).
Suarez's last outing against the Miami Marlins did not go well, as he took the loss after allowing six runs and eight hits in just two-plus innings.
Sunday will mark Suarez's sixth career appearance and third career start against the Padres. He currently holds a 0-1 record with a 2.87 ERA against San Diego.
Padres' Xander Bogaerts will be a player to watch as he aims to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Bogaerts has been on fire this month, batting .512 (21-for-41).
"The biggest thing for him is he has been putting barrels on baseballs," said Shildt of Bogaerts' performance.
Baltimore's pitching staff has struggled during their recent slump, giving up at least six runs in each of their last five games. The defense has also been sloppy, with the Orioles committing two errors on Saturday, one on Friday, and one on Thursday against Miami.
"We haven't played well defensively for a few weeks," admitted Hyde. "It's going to be really important for us going forward."
San Diego Padres vs. Baltimore Orioles Recap JUL 28TH 2024
Cedric Mullins capped a six-run third inning with a two-run double and Ryan Mountcastle drove in four runs as the host Baltimore Orioles avoided a three-game sweep by defeating the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Sunday afternoon.
A six-run lead nearly vanished on Baltimore for the second time in four days, as the host Miami Marlins erased a 6-0 deficit in an eventual 7-6 Orioles victory in 10 innings on Thursday. However, Baltimore relievers Cionel Perez (2-0), Seranthony Dominguez and Yennier Cano (fourth save) made it through the final three innings with only one run allowed on Sunday. Dominguez was in his second outing since he was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies.
The result marked the end of San Diego's season-high seven-game winning streak. The Padres finished a nine-game road trip with a 7-2 record.
San Diego's Xander Bogaerts continued his hot July with a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the gap to 6-5.
Orioles starter Albert Suarez was unable to make it through the fifth inning, when the Padres struck for three runs. Suarez ended up going 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Jacob Webb gave up two runs in relief.
Padres starter Randy Vasquez (3-6) was charged with all six runs in the third inning, though he never recorded an out in that frame. He was credited with two innings worked, giving up four hits and four walks.
Mountcastle had a two-run single in the big third inning, while Gunnar Henderson's bases-loaded walk provided the first run and Ryan O'Hearn's single drove in the next run.
Baltimore's James McCann walked twice in the third, scoring the first time after the free pass. O'Hearn was 2-for-3 with a walk and the game's only player with more than one hit until Mountcastle's second two-run single in the eighth.
The Padres countered with three runs in the fifth, with Ha-Seong Kim's double and Kyle Higashioka's single driving in the first two runs before Luis Arraez's double-play grounder plated the third run.
Bogaerts, who hit his fifth home run this season, racked up four extra-base hits across the last two games of the series and has an eight-game hitting streak.
Padres third baseman Manny Machado, a former Oriole who notched his 1,000th career RBI on Saturday, was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. The 32-year-old third baseman, who's in his 13th big-league season, played the first seven years with the Orioles.