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<\/p>\nGood morning from Baltimore,<\/p>\n
There is no telling with this team.<\/p>\n
With any team, really.<\/p>\n
But the 2026 Padres have been particularly confounding. So it is impossible to know whether a game like yesterday, in which they scored more runs (nine) than they had in any of their previous 33 games and hit more home runs (five) than they had in any game all season, will have a carryover.<\/p>\n
They were not saying it would.<\/p>\n
They were not saying it wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re dogs,\u201d Jackson Merrill said. \u201cLook around the clubhouse. We\u2019re dogs. We\u2019ve got the guys to get on a roll here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Padres knew they had gotten to a rookie starting pitcher and a struggling reliever and hit the ball in the air in a ballpark that is as hitter-friendly as any at sea level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s nice to hit in Camden Yards rather than Petco Park sometimes,\u201d manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cThe heat and humidity, players seem to like that a little bit. But it\u2019s nice for those guys to feel, \u2018Hey, we still got it\u2019 and it\u2019s not just words from the coaching staff or words from other players, but they go out and actually see the results for all the work they\u2019ve put in.\u201d<\/p>\n
But maybe that is all they needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe scored some runs,\u201d Manny Machado said. \u201cWe hit the ball well. We hit the ball out of the ballpark. It\u2019s pretty nice playing at Camden Yards instead of Petco. We\u2019ve just got to take advantage when we go on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Padres\u2019 17 times on base (six walks, one hit batter) yesterday were their most since May 5 (33 games). But they reached double digits in hits (10) for the third time in the past four games. For about a week, they have been hitting the ball harder more often and striking out less.<\/p>\n
Here is an updated version of the chart in yesterday\u2019s newsletter regarding the relative warmth of the offense:<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve been taking consistent at-bats,\u201d Machado said. \u201cWe just need to continue doing that. I\u2019ve said it before, said it many times: hitting is contagious. When one guy goes, everyone starts going, just like when someone gets cold, a lot of us get cold. We\u2019ve been on a cold streak. As of late, we\u2019ve been hitting the ball really hard. It just takes one guy to get going, and then we\u2019re all gonna start hitting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been around baseball quite a bit now \u2014 for a couple days now \u2014 so I know things will turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can read in my game story (here<\/a>) about an afternoon with as much drama as offense that ended with the Padres winning 9-3.<\/p>\n You can read more about the drama \u2014 including the prognosis for Xander Bogaerts and Freddy Fermin after both were hit in the head by baseballs \u2013 and some roster moves in my postgame notebook (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Steamed Stammen<\/p>\n Stammen could hardly get tossed a couple weeks ago<\/a> in a situation in which managers by rule are supposed to be ejected.<\/p>\n He is just that nice and generally reserved. As a credo, he watches the words that come from his mouth and the way he presents himself.<\/p>\n Anyone who has played cards or golf or baseball with him knows he is highly competitive. But he is a gentleman and a man who strives to live out his Christian faith in every deed.<\/p>\n However, he is the first to tell you he is not perfect, which is part of why he is so gracious with others.<\/p>\n But yesterday, well, there is a reason he covered his mouth with his hand virtually the entire time he confronted umpire Chris Conroy after Ron Marinaccio was ejected for hitting Gunnar Henderson with a pitch in the ninth inning.<\/p>\n \u201cI was mad,\u201d he said. \u201cI was not as proud of what I said. Put it that way. Sometimes you\u2019re proud of how you can hold your temper, and this one was probably not as proud.\u201d<\/p>\n Thinking ahead months ago to the eventuality of his arguing with umpires, Stammen said it would be a priority to not end up on Jomboy, the social media account that has an uncanny ability (and entertaining) ability to read lips and break down one-field back-and-forths.<\/p>\n Stammen was on Jomboy yesterday. But there wasn\u2019t much to be gleaned from his conversation with Conroy.<\/p>\n Craig Stammen was ejected after Ron Marinaccio was tossed for hitting Gunnar Henderson on a pitch that appeared to be retaliation for Xander Bogaerts being struck in the head earlier in the game pic.twitter.com\/DWPWd0Ab2K<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n It was what it was<\/p>\n The Orioles seemed convinced Marinaccio\u2019s pitch was intentional.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying the ball to Gunnar was on purpose, but it was done the right way,\u201d manager Craig Albernaz said. \u201cThat\u2019s why there was no gripes from us. Gunnar was fine with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Things was, though, Henderson did have a problem with being hit in the ninth inning. He was certain that two inside pitches from Bradgley Rodriguez in the seventh inning were attempts to hit him.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess they were making up for missing,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cThey had their two opportunities in my previous at-bat and missed. I thought that should have been the end of it. I guess they were trying to get payback. I guess we\u2019re even now.\u201d<\/p>\n Stammen, who for the first time this season was still agitated after the game, asserted that the pitches by Rodrigurez were merely evidence that the Padres were consistently trying to pitch Henderson inside given his power potential.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he gets extended, he\u2019s going to do what he did yesterday,\u201d Stammen said, referring to Henderson\u2019s 14th home run of the season on Friday night. \u201cThat\u2019s part of pitching \u2014 to be able to pitch inside, pitch between the plate and the body.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the greatest evidence the Padres were not throwing at Henderson \u2014 and another source of irritation for Stammen \u2014 was that the only available pitchers after Marinaccio were Adrian Morej\u00f3n and Mason Miller. Morej\u00f3n ended up having to come in for the final out.<\/p>\n \u201cMy job is to go out there and finish that game right there,\u201d Marinaccio said. So I\u2019m not happy about Adrian having to get in there. He\u2019s a great hitter. You have to make hitters like that uncomfortable at times. I pulled a fastball a little bit too much there.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the incidents that led up to the umpire crew determining Marinaccio was retaliating, the Padres by and large did not think there was any intent behind Orioles starter Trey Gibson\u2019s 94 mph fastball hitting Bogaerts or the 93 mph fastball six pitches earlier that buzzed Machado\u2019s head.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it was intentional,\u201d Machado said. \u201cHe was erratic early on. Then he got into a groove in the middle and lost it at the end. It\u2019s just baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n Infusion<\/p>\n The changes kept coming.<\/p>\n The Padres roster has been remodeled over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the kind of makeover that generally means something good, such as when a team goes all-in at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n No, the Padres yesterday added another player from Triple-A when they called up Nick Solak and placed Miguel Andujar on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.<\/p>\n (You can read about the prognosis for Andujar and where Solak might fit in my notebook<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Three of the new players were in the starting lineup. By game\u2019s end, Solak had subbed in for Will Wagner, another of the new additions. Plus, catcher Rodolfo Dur\u00e1n, called up May 7 to make his MLB debut after 11 minor-league seasons, had replaced Fermin.<\/p>\n It is not the Padres\u2019 intention to go the entirety of the season with the roster as it is. But four guys who have spent most of this season in Triple-A and\/or most of their careers in the minor leagues drove in a total of five runs and had six of the Padres\u2019 hits yesterday.<\/p>\n Big addition<\/p>\n Samad Taylor doesn\u2019t have any problem being 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds.<\/p>\n \u201cSmall guy, I\u2019m gonna put the bat on the ball, and I\u2019m gonna run,\u201d he said yesterday in explaining his sprinting at the start of his home run trot in the first inning.<\/p>\n But he sure does carry himself like he is 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds.<\/p>\n That is a source of amusement for Gavin Sheets, who is every bit of 6-3, 235.<\/p>\n When it was mentioned to Sheets that Taylor has the swagger of a giant, Sheets chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cI love it,\u201d he said. \u201cSpark plug.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor certainly continues to be that.<\/p>\n He was called up June 3 to take the roster spot made available when Nick Castellanos was designated for assignment. After going 0-for-2 in his first game, which he entered as a pinch-hitter, Taylor has gone 9-for-22 with eight RBIs, three walks and two stolen bases while starting the past six games in left field.<\/p>\n His home run, the first of his career (in his 107th plate appearance), was the second time one of Taylor\u2019s RBIs has served as the deciding run. He also has a go-ahead RBI and two game-tying RBIs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe little guy, he\u2019s been really hot for us,\u201d Machado said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a big spark to our lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, the Padres are increasingly enamored with Taylor, who spends a lot of time buzzing around the clubhouse and dugout talking with teammates before, during and after games.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a little grinder,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cHe\u2019s got everything in him that helps us win baseball games.<\/p>\n Homecoming<\/p>\n Merrill hit his second home run at Camden Yards, which is about a half-hour from where he grew up.<\/p>\n This was his first as a professional.<\/p>\n The first one came about two weeks before he was drafted in the first round by the Padres in 2021 when he pulled a pitch down the right field line in the Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game. Yesterday\u2019s blast was to the gap in left-center.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a high schooler, it was pretty cool,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t really a power hitter, so hitting one at Camden Yards is pretty cool. To hit one now, all I can think about was winning the ballgame.\u201d<\/p>\n As was the case when the Padres played here his rookie year in 2024, both games this weekend have been attended by well over 100 family and friends who have sat together in a section of seats beyond center field.<\/p>\n A second to appreciate<\/p>\n The Padres scoring twice in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to four runs was the biggest reason Randy V\u00e1squez was allowed to finish five innings yesterday.<\/p>\n But he got an assist from Fernando Tatis Jr. too.<\/p>\n After V\u00e1squez walked the first batter he faced in that inning, Henderson grounded a ball up the middle that Tatis fielded just to the right of second base. He was headed toward the bag as he made the play, and rather than flip the ball to Bogaerts, Tatis simply kept going after stepping on the base and slung the ball back across his body to get Henderson at first.<\/p>\n \u201cJust momentum,\u201d Tatis said.<\/p>\n Slick DP turned by the 2nd baseman Fernando Tatis Jr.#padres<\/a> #forthefaithful<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3Fpz7NgvcN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Padres Highlights (@LFGPads19) June 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cListen, he\u2019s been an infielder before, right, but you\u2019re playing on the left side of the infield, which is a little bit different throw,\u201d Machado said. \u201cYou go over to the right side, that\u2019s a different angle. So to be able to come across the bag like that and make a throw going the other way, I mean, that\u2019s tough. That\u2019s a tough play. It\u2019s not as easy as he makes it look.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/boxscore.png\")
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