The Padres' offense got going on Saturday against the Orioles, scoring nine runs on ten hits with five home runs. Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, Samad Taylor, Gavin Sheets and Rodolfo Duran all left the yard, providing more than enough offense for Randy Vasquez to pick up the win. Vasquez battled traffic on the basepaths, but ultimately allowed just two runs in five innings of work. The Padres held a big lead for the entire game, and were able to avoid using their high-leverage relievers outside of Adrian Morejon, who was asked to retire Pete Alonso for the final out of the game after Ron Marinaccio was ejected for beaning Gunner Henderson. Morejon got the job done on just two pitches, so his availability for Sunday's series finale shouldn't be compromised. Walker Buehler will start for the Padres on Sunday.
The Padres did however lose Xander Bogaerts and Freddy Fermin during the game, as both were hit in the head by baseballs. Bogaerts was hit in the head by a pitch and stayed in the game initially, but was eventually replaced defensively by Sung-Mun Song. In between innings during warmups, a pitch from Yuki Matsui hit the dirt and bounced up and hit Fermin in the side of the head, causing him to exit the game early. After the game, Craig Stammen said that Bogaerts felt fine at first, and then had some spasms so he was removed as a precaution and will be re-evaluated tomorrow. Fermin felt a little woozy after he was hit, and was a more serious concern than Bogaerts.
You can watch the Jamul Casino Resort Padres Postgame Show below, with full highlights from the game and Craig Stammen's postgame press conference.
