Machado hits a 3-run homer against his former team as the Padres rout the Orioles 9-4
AP Baseball Writer
BALTIMORE (AP) — Michael King pitched brilliantly into the seventh inning, Manny Machado hit a three-run homer in his old ballpark and the San Diego Padres extended their winning streak to seven games with a 9-4 rout of the sloppy Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
Three of San Diego’s four runs off Baltimore starter Dean Kremer (4-7) were unearned as the Orioles lost for the 18th time in their last 30 games. They’re still in first place in the AL East only because the New York Yankees have slumped badly as well.
King (9-6) allowed two hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings, striking out nine. He exited with two men on base, and they both eventually scored on a double by Cedric Mullins. But that came after the Padres had already built an 8-0 lead.
“We’ve just played good baseball,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “Pitching’s been outstanding. They’ve been able to go deep into games. The at-bats have been relentless.”
With men on second and third and two outs in the second, Kyle Higashioka lifted a popup behind third base. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson appeared to be calling for it, but third baseman Ramón Urías backed under the ball and the two eventually came together. Both reached for the ball and neither caught it, and both runners scored on the error, which was charged to Urías.
The following inning, Urías missed a quick-but-playable grounder that turned into an RBI double by Xander Bogaerts. With men on first and second and the fourth, Jurickson Profar hit a grounder to second, but Henderson’s throw to first for a potential double play was wild for his third error in three games. Another run scored on that play to make it 4-0.
“We haven’t played well defensively for a few weeks,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s going to be really important for us going forward. Just been inconsistent in a lot of areas right now. Just got to battle through it.”
Machado, a star with the Orioles from 2012-18, connected in the seventh off Cole Irvin to make it 7-0. It was his 14th home run of the year and 1,000th career RBI. Machado and Bogaerts had three hits apiece.
Mullins hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
The Padres have the longest active winning streak in baseball. The Orioles, meanwhile, have had nine straight winning months (with a minimum of 10 games played) and that streak is in danger of ending. They’re 8-12 this July with five games left.
UP NEXT
San Diego tries for a three-game sweep at Camden Yards with Randy Vásquez (3-5) on the mound against Albert Suárez (5-4) on Sunday.
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