Padres vs Orioles Recap: Duran, Merrill lead San Diego to 5-2 win

The San Diego Padres rolled into Baltimore's Camden Yards riding a two-game winning streak. Just the night before, they'd crushed the Orioles 9-3, with homers flying everywhere. Now it was Sunday, June 14, and the Padres wanted to keep the fun going. The Orioles sat at 34-39 and really needed a win. San Diego came in at 37-33, hungry to keep climbing. The final score told the story: Padres 5, Orioles 2. San Diego's pitching held strong all day, and a couple of huge swings changed everything. Walker Buehler took the mound for the Padres, and he was locked in from pitch one. The Orioles' Trevor Rogers started for Baltimore, hoping to bounce back from yesterday's pounding.

Let's watch how the Padres took over. In the second inning, Samad Taylor ripped a double to center field. Rodolfo Duran stepped up next with two outs and smoked a fastball that rocketed into the outfield. Taylor raced home—it was 1-0, Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a sharp single up the middle, and Duran tore around the bases. Now it was 2-0. The Orioles got one back in the fifth when Jeremiah Jackson crushed a 95-mile-per-hour fastball over the right field fence. The score pulled tight at 2-1. But Duran wasn't done. In the seventh, he stepped in again and absolutely demolished a pitch to center. The ball soared 432 feet—a moonshot. Wagner scored behind him. San Diego led 4-1 now.

The Orioles refused to quit. In the seventh, Gunnar Henderson singled to right, and Blaze Alexander raced home to make it 4-2. The Padres needed to answer. In the ninth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped up with two outs. He lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, and Will Wagner tagged up and scored. The final run crossed the plate. It was 5-2, Padres. Mason Miller came in from the bullpen and locked it down tight. He faced three Orioles and struck out all three. No hits, no runs. Just dominance. The Padres walked out winners again. San Diego improved to 38-33 and kept their winning ways alive. Baltimore fell to 34-40, still searching for consistency. The pitching staff delivered for San Diego once more.