Padres on deck: Limping home to face Orioles

Baltimore Orioles at San Diego Padres

• Game 1: 3:40 p.m. Monday (Padres.TV)
• Game 2: 6:40 p.m. Tuesday (Padres.TV)
• Game 3: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday (Padres.TV)

In the standings

Baltimore Orioles (61-76, 5th in AL East)

The Orioles have lost eight of 10 but are a respectable 46-48 under interim manager Tony Masolino after a 15-28 cost Brandon Hyde his job. Baltimore lost two of three last year to the Padres at Camden Yards.

San Diego Padres (74-57, T-1st in NL West)

The Padres are back to two games behind the Dodgers in the division after a 2-4 road trip. They are also two games behind the Cubs in the race for the NL’s top wild-card spot and three games up on the Mets, the current No. 3 wild-card team.

Trending

Baltimore: The Orioles rank 25th in run differential (minus-88), 16th in OPS (.712), 26th in rotation ERA (4.81) and 25th in bullpen ERA (4.66). SS Gunnar Henderson leads the team with four homers and 18 RBIs in August and is tops among qualifiers with a .770 OPS). 2B Jackson Holliday has a .600 OPS since the trade deadline.

San Diego: The Padres hottest hitter since the trade deadline was a gift from the Orioles as OF Ramón Laureano is tops on the team with seven homers, 23 RBIs and a .935 OPS). OF Gavin Sheets only played in 18 games in August, but he has a 1.209 OPS and three homers. Both 1B Luis Arraez (.573 OPS) and 3B Manny Machado (.590 OPS) will be happy to see August come to an end.

Pitching matchups

Monday

Orioles RHP Kyle Bradish (0-1, 3.00 ERA)   |   He returned from last year’s Tommy John surgery last week, striking out 10 over six innings of two runs in a loss to Boston. He did not walk a batter. Two of the four hits he allowed were solo shots. This will be Bradish’s first career appearance against the Padres.

Padres RHP Dylan Cease (6-11, 4.82 ERA)   |   The Padres won four of his five starts in August (4.94 ERA) despite Cease getting chased in the fourth inning one and the fifth inning another time. He has allowed eight runs over his last two starts (9 ⅓ IP). He has a 3.82 ERA in six career starts against the Orioles, but has not faced them since a pair of starts in 2023 (5.25 ERA).

Tuesday

Orioles RHP Tyler Wells (2025 debut)   |   He’s making his first big-league start since last year’s elbow revision. Wells’ minor league ramp-up concluded with 6⅓ innings of two-run ball in his last start for Triple-A Norfolk (90 pitches). This will be Wells’ first career appearance against the Padres.

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (3-4, 5.66 ERA)   |   He has been alternating good and bad starts over his last six trips to the mound (3.77 ERA), with the Mariners tagging him for four runs in four innings last week in Seattle. Darvish has a 2.95 ERA in four home starts since returning from the injured list and a 7.86 ERA in six road starts. He has only two starts in his career against the Orioles (4.73 ERA), the last in 2023 (7 IP, 4 ER).

Wednesday

Orioles LHP Cade Povich (2-7, 5.04 ERA)   |   The 25-year-old has a 5.12 ERA in 170 ⅔ innings since making his debut last year. He had a 4.78 ERA in five starts in August, all losses for his team. Povich has a 3.86 ERA in 39 ⅔ innings this year on the road. This will be Povich’s first appearance against the Padres.

Padres LHP Nestor Cortes (2-3, 5.06 ERA)   |   He followed up his best start of the year (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER against the Dodgers) with a clunker at Minnesota (3 IP, 3 ER). Cortes has a 3.75 ERA in five starts so far with the Padres. He has a 2.20 ERA in 57 ⅓ innings against the Orioles, who first brought him to the majors in 2018, including a 3.00 ERA in two starts last year.

Team leaders

• OPS: Orioles—SS Gunnar Henderson (.808), 3B Jordan Westburg (.799), 2B Jackson Holliday (.697); Padres—OF Ramón Laureano (.899), 1B Ryan O’Hearn (.820), 3B Manny Machado (.814).
• HRs: Orioles—Henderson (16), Holliday (15), Westburg (15); Padres—Laureano (22), Machado (21), LF Gavin Sheets (18), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (18).
• RBIs: Orioles—Henderson (61), Holliday (51), Westburg (34); Padres—Machado (79), Laureano (69), Sheets (62).
• Steals: Orioles—Henderson (20), Holliday (14), Mateo (14); Padres—Tatis (27), SS Xander Bogaerts (20), Machado (12).
• Saves: Orioles—RHP Felix Bautista (19-for-20, 2.60 ERA), LHP Keegan Akin (3-for-9, 3.29 ERA); Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (35-for-40, 3.04 ERA), RHP Mason Miller (21-for-25, 3.28 ERA).
• Holds: Orioles—RHP Yennier Cano (17, 5.18 ERA), Akin (14), LHP Dietrich Enns (3, 3.86 ERA); Padres—RHP Jason Adam (29,1.81 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (27, 3.05 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (18, 1.75 ERA).

Training room

Baltimore: RHP Albert Suarez, Padres closer Robert Suarez’s brother, should return from a right shoulder strain when rosters expand on Monday. The lineup is without INF Jordan Westburg (ankle), C Adley Rutschman (oblique), OF Tyler O’Neill (wrist), C Gary Sanchez (knee) and INF/OF Jorge Mateo (hamstring) to at least start the month. RHP Felix Bautista (shoulder), RHP Zach Eflin (back) and RHP Grayson Rodriguez (elbow, lat) are among the pitchers done for the year.

San Diego: SS Xander Bogaerts is on the 10-day injured list with a non-displaced fracture in his left foot. He hopes to return before the end of the season. OF Jackson Merrill (ankle) could be activated Monday. RHP Michael King (knee) likely does not return until after the trip to Coors Field.