O's game blog: San Diego in town as the new homestand begins

It's already been a busy day for the Orioles, who have made two trades involving seven players and added two pitchers. But tonight they get back on the field and host San Diego to begin a new homestand.

Earlier today they dealt outfielder Austin Hays to the Philadelphia Phillies for relief pitcher Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. Later they acquired starting pitcher Zach Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, infielder Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel. The Orioles selected all three in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Baumeister was rated their No. 17 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 18 via Baseball America. Horvath was ranked No. 10 by MLB Pipeline and No. 13 by Baseball America. Etzel was not a top 30 prospect.

The Orioles are 61-41 and leading the American League East by two games over the Yankees after their wild win Thursday at Miami, 7-6 in 10 innings. The Birds hit three early homers in the win as Anthony Santander and Connor Norby hit solo shots and Colton Cowser added a three-run blast.

Cowser has a six-game hitting streak and is 8-for-20 in this span with two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs. During the streak he is batting .400 with an OPS of 1.300.

Despite the win, the O's have still lost eight of 12 and 10 of their last 16 games.

They scored 13 runs in three games at Miami with 25 hits in the series, going 8-for-23 with runners in scoring position.

San Diego (55-50) is second in the National League West and 7 1/2 games out of first, but they are currently holding the third and last NL wild card spot. 

The Padres have used exceptional pitching to win five games in a row, allowing zero, one, zero, three and zero runs in those games. Yesterday right-hander Dylan Cease pitched a no-hitter at Washington, throwing the Padres' second no-no in club history and first since Joe Musgrove's no-hitter on April 9, 2021 at Texas.

In those past five games, San Diego pitching has allowed four runs and 14 hits in 45 innings for an ERA of 0.80, an opponent batting average of .099 and .316 OPS.

San Diego will play at Camden Yards for the first time since 2019, when the Padres won both games in a two-game series that June. That was Manny Machado's first appearance at Oriole Park since being traded to the Dodgers in 2018. This marks the Padres' fifth series at Camden Yards all-time, and they have gone 6-3 in Baltimore against the Orioles.

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (12-4, 3.83 ERA) gets the start tonight. The O's are 13-5 in his 2024 starts, and he allowed two runs in six innings his last time out at Texas. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 13 outings.

Righty Adam Mazur (1-3, 7.84 ERA) goes for San Diego.

San Diego's Jackson Merrill will play at Camden Yards for the first time as a major leaguer. Though he is from Severna Park, Md., the Padres' game notes say Merrill grew up a Red Sox fan.

Padres closer Robert Suárez and his older brother, Orioles starter Albert, will oppose one another for the first time as big leaguers.