Good morning from Baltimore,

At the start of what feels like a crucial nine-game trip, the Padres’ starting pitcher did not give them much of a chance. And the offense didn’t take advantage of numerous chances either.

You can read in my game story (here) about Griffin Canning’s rough day and the Padres leaving too many runners on early in a 7-3 loss to the Orioles.

It might feel a little late to be putting much emphasis on anything except wins and losses, especially with how the Padres have squandered a chance to solidify their playoff standing by losing 13 of their past 17 games.

But it is definitely not too late to be assessing underlying numbers and what they might mean.

The Padres are 35-33, very much in the National League wild-card race.

Their record is six games worse than it was at this point last season, but they are just one spot and 1½ games worse off in the wild-card standings. They were 34-34 in 2024, a half-game up in the wild-card race.

It is right to be worried about the starting rotation. But that has been a concern since the beginning of the season. The Padres will address that via trade as long as the offense continues trending in the right direction.

The Padres had seven hits, walked three times and got hit by a pitch last night. Manny Machado doubled twice, Gavin Sheets drove in two runs with his two hits. Converting with runners in scoring position remained somewhat elusive, but the Padres had 14 at-bats in that situation last night.

Things are looking up on offense.

It is not grasping to believe that improvement could be the early rumblings of a surge.

“We’re getting these opportunities,” Machado said. “We didn’t have that two weeks ago or a week ago. We’re getting those again, and I believe in the group in here, that we’re going to be able to cash those in. Keep taking good at-bats like we have been.”

They did that last night, at least for most of the first half of the game.

They made Orioles pitcher Shane Baz throw 103 pitches in five innings.

Said Baz: “They did a really good job against me, fighting off pitches, putting stuff in play, working counts.”

Baz had a 2.02 ERA over his previous five starts (32⅔ innings).

The Padres face rookie Trey Gibson, who has a 4.20 ERA in three career starts, today. They face left-hander Trevor Rogers, who has an 8.17 ERA over his past eight starts, in tomorrow’s series finale.

Part of the reason this trip to play the Orioles, Cardinals and Rangers feels so important is that 10 of the 13 games that follow are against the NL East-leading Braves and NL West-leading Dodgers. The other three are at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.

At least

Canning didn’t do very much very well last night. But he did make it through five innings.

That seemed virtually impossible when Yuki Matsui was warming up and Canning was seven batters into an eight-batter, 35-pitch second inning.

“The bullpen has been worked a lot,” Canning said. “So yeah, I mean, it’s my job at that point to kind of wear it and see how deep I can get into the game.”

Canning, who threw 93 pitches, is just the second starter to have made it through five innings the most recent time through the rotation.

His lasting as long as he did (and the Orioles being ahead and not batting in the ninth) allowed the Padres to finish the game with just Wandy Peralta (1⅔  innings) and David Morgan (1⅓ innings) having to come out of the bullpen.

(I wrote in the game story that it was something of a minor miracle that both Canning and Baz made it through five innings. So I had to check and see how hyperbolic I had been. What I found was that the 196 pitches between them were the fourth-most pitches by two starting pitchers who went exactly five innings in the same game this season. The high so far in such a game was 202 pitches.)

Machado returns

As he has every time the Padres have come to Baltimore since 2019, Machado received an ovation when his name was announced during pregame introductions and before his first at-bat last night.

Machado, who gets booed vociferously in virtually every other ballpark the Padres visit, was drafted by the Orioles and played for them from 2012 until they traded him to the Dodgers in July 2018.

While there was applause in his subsequent trips to the plate, there were also boos. He was viewed by Orioles fans as someone who could do damage.

And maybe he is getting back to being that guy.

His two doubles last night gave him four in the past three games, a span in which he is 5-for-13. The only better three-game stretch he has had this season was when he went 6-for-13 with two homers and two doubles April 25-27, which included two games in Mexico City.

“It’s about being a little bit more consistent with those swings, those at-bats, not trying to give any away,” Machado said. “Don’t look at the results but just try to continue with the good swings.”

Machado did lament that he missed pitches he should have done damage on while making outs with runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings.

“I had an opportunity there in the first … got a good pitch to freaking hit, and I just missed it,” he said. “Then again in the second, had an opportunity with two outs. He gave me two pitches to hit, and I didn’t do it.”

That has been the issue for Machado this season, and I wrote (here) about why that is on Thursday.

Machado is now 9-for-24 with two homers and two doubles in his six games at Camden Yards with the Padres.

“It’s good to be back,” he said. “I grew up here. A lot of great memories. Definitely, stepping into the box it kind of feels like home.”

More work

Machado moved up from the bottom.

His .178 batting average ranks 156th out of 157 qualifying players. He had been last for nearly a week, but Texas’ Evan Carter (.176) retook the bottom spot.

If he keeps having to run like he has the past three games, Machado might actually get a day off. Or at least a DH day.

Machado has started 39 consecutive games, 35 of them at third base.

The Padres began the season with the idea they would rest him more this season. He sat out the season’s 12th game, on April 8, and missed the April 28 game with a calf issue.

But he has played every game since then. One reason is the Padres have had six of the past 44 days off. Another reason is the Padres have been letting him try to hit his way out of his slump.

There is a third reason.

“He also hasn’t been running the bases a lot,” manager Craig Stammen said yesterday. “That saves his legs a little.”

Return to right

Sheets was born three years after his father played his final major league game and seven years after Larry Sheets’ time with the Orioles came to an end.

But the Sheets family remained in Baltimore, and Gavin would tag along when his dad did fairly frequent sponsor and fan events at Camden Yards. Young Gavin would shag balls in right field during those visits to the ballpark.

So maybe there was no better place for him to make his return to right field after not playing there since 2024.

“I was taking reps out there at five years old,” he said yesterday afternoon.

The comfortability with having Sheets in right did actually have to do with the Padres playing at Camden Yards, which  has one of the smaller right fields in the majors leagues.

Sheets has started 31 games at first base, 14 in left field and served as DH in nine.

He started 193 games in right field for the White Sox from 2021 to ‘24.

“I’m utility,” he said. “… No complaints on my end. I’ve always said, ‘Whatever gets you in the lineup, I’ll play wherever.’ If that puts the best lineup out there today, then I’m all for it. I’ll get my work out there before the game and be ready to go.”

Roster machinations

Will Wagner and Samad Taylor hit their way into staying.

Jase Bowen provides defense, speed on the bases and has power potential.

All that conspired to make Bryce Johnson the odd man out.

The 30-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment yesterday, opening the spot needed as shortstop Xander Bogaerts returned from the paternity list after the birth of his son.

The jettisoning of Johnson also created a 40-man roster spot for which there seems to be no immediate plan but will likely come in handy in the next month or so.

The Padres have been perusing the market for a left-handed hitter but have not found a compelling option.

It seems likely they add an impact bat, who will likely play in the outfield, before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. But the large number of teams in contention means the market is likely not going to loosen up until at least next month. That is when teams out of contention will become more willing to seriously discuss significant trades.

For now, Taylor appears to be the primary left fielder. He made his fifth consecutive start there last night and went 1-for-4. He is 6-for-17 in his starts since being called up June 3.

Wagner, who was initially called up to fill Bogaerts’ spot, was the designated hitter for a third consecutive game. He walked twice and went 0-for-2. He has reached base in seven of his 10 plate appearances since being recalled on Tuesday.

Bowen was on the bench, available to pinch-run or be a defensive replacement for Sheets if the Padres had a late lead.

Those are the roles Johnson filled much of last season and this one.

Johnson signed a minor-league deal with the Padres in December 2023 and played 47 games for them in 2024. He signed with the Pirates before the ‘25 season but was reacquired by the Padres that April and ended up hitting .342/.383/.434 in 84 plate appearances that season. He was batting .178/.229/.222 in 49 plate appearances this season.

If Johnson clears waivers, the Padres will almost certainly bring him back to be available in Triple-A.

Tidbits

Fernando Tatis Jr. went 1-for-5, which extended his on-base streak to seven games. He is getting on at a .382 clip during the streak. That is  the same rate at which he is reaching base over the past 32 games.
Wagner has chased just four of the 30 pitches (13%) he has seen outside the strike zone in his three games.
Peralta lowered his ERA to 2.18 for the season and 0.92 over his past 15 appearances (19⅔ innings). The only two runs he allowed in that span came in the same outing.
Morgan has not allowed a run in five innings in his three appearances since being recalled from Triple-A.
Ty France was hit by a pitch 116 times over the past five seasons, 28 more than any other MLB player. Last night, he was hit for just the second time in 2026.
The Padres have lost six consecutive road games for the first time since June 2-18, 2024.
Miguel Andujar was not in the starting lineup for the fourth consecutive game due to a strained left hamstring. Andujar, who pinch-hit Tuesday and Wednesday, is still not running full speed.
You can read Jeff Sanders’ latest “Clubhouse Chatter” column (here) on Padres players talking about their most meaningful tattoos.

All right, that’s it for me. Earlier game today (1:05 p.m. PT)

Talk to you tomorrow.