Drake Makes Orioles Debut After Givens Gives Up Runs
BALTIMORE -- The San Diego Padres have hit well throughout the month of June, and they did so once again Tuesday night to earn their third straight victory.
Matt Kemp finished with four hits, and Derek Norris homered and drew a key bases-loaded walk as the San Diego Padres banged out 15 hits and rallied for a 10-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Padres (30-42) entered the game last in the National League West. However, they led the National League with a .285 team batting average this month, and all three of their victories in the brief streak have come versus first-place teams -- two against the Nationals and this game.
"I don't think we ever come into a day expecting to get beat because we're playing a first-place team," San Diego manager Andy Green said. "We're stringing together quality at-bats very consistently right now, and you do that, you win baseball games."
The Padres got at least two hits from five of their nine starters with eight overall posting hits.
Kemp led the way with his 4-for-6 effort. He also knocked in two runs, as did Norris.
"I think, you know, we're just having good approaches up there," said first baseman Wil Myers, who notched an RBI single in the fourth. "Obviously, you know, the more guys hit, the more contagious it gets, and I just think it's carrying down through the lineup."
Baltimore held a 6-3 lead heading into the seventh when its bullpen and defense faltered. Three walks, a wild pitch and an error helped San Diego score four runs and take a 7-6 lead.
Kemp began the seventh with a double against Mychal Givens and slowed at third base on Yangervis Solarte's single, but Kemp scored when Orioles right fielder Mark Trumbo booted Solarte's ball. Norris, who had homered earlier, later walked with the bases loaded to cut the lead to one. Melvin Upton Jr. tied the game by scoring when reliever Oliver Drake threw a wild pitch to Christian Bethancourt on his first pitch in the majors this season.
Bethancourt followed with a slow grounder to second that Jonathan Schoop momentarily bobbled but recovered in time to make the play. But Ryan Schimpf scored from third on the play with the go-ahead run.
Givens (5-1) faced five batters and didn't record an out, allowing four runs on three hits with two walks. Orioles starter Tyler Wilson left after six innings with that three-run lead but Givens struggled.
The Padres (30-42) added some insurance with three runs in the ninth off closer Zach Britton. Alexei Ramirez (RBI single), Travis Jankowski (squeeze bunt) and Kemp (RBI single) each drove in runs.
Britton had allowed just three runs all season before this game -- and none in his last 17 outings -- but the Orioles may have been a bit tired since they had to fly to Texas for a make-up game Monday and come back to Baltimore for this contest.
"(If you) get in at 4, 4:30 in the morning ... you try to grind through it," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "The schedule obviously hasn't been kind to us but it's part of it."
The San Diego bullpen helped slam the door on the Baltimore offense after starter Luis Perdomo allowed six runs in five innings.
Kevin Quackenbush (5-3) and Brad Hand both threw a shutout inning, and Ryan Buchter added two-thirds of an inning before Fernando Rodney came on with two outs and the bases loaded and recorded the final four outs for his 15th save.
Rodney allowed his first earned run of the season in the ninth inning. He was one out away from finishing the inning and breaking Randy Jones' old record of 26 innings without an earned run allowed to start the season when Pedro Alvarez's soft grounder hit the bag at first and rolled away from Myers for a base hit.
The right-hander's streak stops at 25 2/3 innings, but that did not bother him.
"(The win), that was the most important (thing)," he said. "We come from behind, we score a lot of runs. So that's good."
Baltimore (40-30) got much of its offense thanks to a pair of two-run homers from Alvarez (five RBIs). Adam Jones and Hyun Soo Kim also each drove in a run.
Alvarez now is hitting .311 in June.
"(I'm) a lot more comfortable," Alvarez said. "I'm feeling better, and you know, any time you can get an opportunity to get some ABs and see some pitches, that's going to add to that comfort level."
The Padres manufactured a run in the first to take a quick lead after a 38-minute rain delay. Jankowski started the game with a single, then stole second and scored on Kemp's one-out bloop single to right.
Baltimore answered with two runs on a two-out rally in the third. Jones tied the game with an RBI double before Kim singled and gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead.
San Diego tied it when Norris led off the fourth with a homer to left. The Padres took a 3-2 lead later in the inning on a Myers' RBI single.
That lead did not last long either, as Alvarez lined a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the fourth after Schoop's lead-off single.
Alvarez struck again in the fifth with his second two-run homer, extending Baltimore's lead to 6-3. After that, however, it became San Diego's game.