Orioles Ambush Padres Early, Henderson Reaches 100 HRs in 7-3 Win

The San Diego Padres came to Baltimore on Friday night hoping to salvage a road trip, but they ran headlong into an Orioles offense that was, frankly, unavoidable. The O’s dismantled Griffin Canning early and often, cruising to a 7-3 victory that felt far more lopsided than the final margin suggests. This wasn’t a close game masquerading as one. This was Baltimore simply overpowering a Padres lineup that had no answers once the second inning concluded.

The Padres struck first, which is important to note because it’s the last time they’d hold any advantage in this contest. Gavin Sheets hammered an RBI double to right in the top of the first, scoring Fernando Tatis Jr. and giving San Diego an early 1-0 lead. It was the kind of start that makes you think the visiting team might have something cooking. They were wrong.

The Second Inning Disaster

What happened in the bottom of the second inning should be instructive for every Padres fan who still harbors hope for their pitching staff. Griffin Canning simply came unglued, and the Orioles pounced like a predator spotting wounded prey. Samuel Basallo, that emerging Baltimore talent, launched a two-run homer to give the O’s a 3-1 lead. But Canning wasn’t done being careless. Pete Alonso followed with a two-run single that deflected off Manny Machado’s glove, and suddenly it was 5-1 before most fans had finished their first beer.

The Padres scored one more run on a Gavin Sheets single in the fifth, making it 5-2, but by then the outcome felt predetermined. Baltimore added another run in the second on a Jackson Holliday sacrifice fly, and Gunnar Henderson put the final nail in the coffin with a solo home run in the fourth, his 100th career blast. That milestone felt perfectly timed, arriving when the game was already decided but when it still mattered enough to register as newsworthy.

Baz Survives, Canning Crumbles

Shane Baz was the unlikely hero for Baltimore, pitching five innings while allowing just six hits and two earned runs. He wasn’t spectacular. He wasn’t even particularly impressive by advanced metrics. But he was competent, which was all the Orioles needed given what their bats were doing. Canning, meanwhile, surrendered seven runs on six hits while walking five batters in just five innings of work. That’s not major league caliber pitching on a Friday night, especially not when your team is trying to stay relevant in a competitive division.

The Padres had their moments, sure. Tatis Jr. drove in a run with a single in the second, and Manny Machado picked up two doubles on the night. But these were consolation prize performances. When you’re trailing 5-1 in the second inning, individual stats don’t mean much. You’re playing for pride and maybe some minor moral victory that nobody remembers come October.

Baltimore’s offense, led by Henderson and Alonso, simply overwhelmed San Diego on Friday night. This is what happens when your road trip runs out of gas and you face a team that smells blood in the water. The Orioles aren’t pretenders anymore, and results like this prove it.