Michael King struck out nine and took a one-hitter into the seventh inning while Manny Machado homered against his former team as the San Diego Padres beat the host Baltimore Orioles 9-4 on Saturday, winning their seventh game in a row.
Machado, whose 14th homer of the season was a three-run shot in the seventh inning, and Xander Bogaerts each had three hits and Jackson Merrill supplied two sacrifice flies for the Padres.
The Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games and are guaranteed to lose their third consecutive home series going into Sunday afternoon’s series finale. Cedric Mullins drove in four runs with a two-run, seventh-inning double off reliever Stephen Kolek and a two-run homer in the ninth off Logan Gillaspie.
Ramon Urias’ two-out single in the third inning was the only hit off King until the seventh, when Anthony Santander led off with a walk and Heston Kjerstad singled with one out.
King (9-6), who posted his fourth victory in his last five starts, was charged with two runs on two hits and two walks. He was working with an extra day of rest following Sunday’s seven-inning stint at Cleveland.
It was another stellar pitching performance from a San Diego starter after Dylan Cease turned in the franchise’s second no-hitter Thursday afternoon at Washington.
Five of the Orioles’ seven hits were singles.
Baltimore starter Dean Kremer (4-7) took the loss, though he allowed only one earned run in six innings with seven strikeouts. He was charged with four total runs, giving up seven hits and issuing one walk.
The Padres scored a couple of unearned runs in the second inning on third baseman Urias’ two-out error on Kyle Higashioka’s grounder.
Bogaerts, who finished with a triple and two doubles, smacked a third-inning RBI double to make it 3-0.
Jurickson Profar, who homered twice in Friday night’s 6-4 victory, brought in another run when Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson made an error on Profar’s fielder’s choice grounder in the fourth.
San Diego’s four-run seventh, including Machado’s homer, came off reliever Cole Irvin.
–Field Level Media