Randy Vasquez took the bump for the San Diego Padres on Saturday, facing off against rookie right-hander Trey Gibson.

Vasquez has struggled as of late, giving up an average of over three runs per game in his last four. Gibson entered the game with a 4.24 ERA in four appearances, generating just five strikeouts over those 17 innings. 

The Padres strike early and do not look back

Fernando Tatis Jr. has continued to get on base at a high rate, and he started this game the same way. Jackson Merrill quickly proved why he still belongs at the top of the order despite his struggles, taking a slider deep the other way to take an early 2-0 lead without a single out in the game. Merrill always seems to play well in the Baltimore area, which he called home until he was drafted by San Diego.

Manny Machado grounded out, Xander Bogaerts walked, and Gavin Sheets fouled out to bring up Samad Taylor. The hottest hitter on the Padres delivered once again, crushing a hung sweeper to dead-center.

First Major League home run for Samad! pic.twitter.com/AU3Ls4VFIE

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 13, 2026

The early lead was a refreshing sight for the Padres, who have continuously struggled to score runs in bunches, especially early. Entering the game, the Padres were dead last in runs scored in MLB by a healthy margin.

Vasquez, unfortunately, also struggled in the first, giving up a home run, walk, and triple to the middle of the Orioles order. Thankfully, this would be the only damage he gave up for the game. He cruised through four more innings, finishing with five total strikeouts in just as many innings and holding the lead for the bullpen.

San Diego continued to tack on

The heart of the lineup once again did their job, with Merrill, Bogaerts, and Gavin Sheets all getting on base for Samad Taylor. Taylor once again delivered, hitting an RBI single down the line and giving the Padres a 5-2 lead. Nick Solak, called up today to replace the injured Miguel Andujar, hit a sacrifice fly to score Bogaerts and give the Padres a four-run margin down the stretch.

A scary situation happened in this game. Xander Bogaerts was hit in the head by a pitch from Gibson and was removed from the game and replaced by Sung-Mun Song. That wasn’t it. As Yuki Matsui was warming up to replace Vasquez in the 6th inning, he threw a ball right into the dirt that took a wild hop and drilled Freddy Fermin in the back of the head. He was replaced by Rodolfo Duran, who later homered in his only at-bat in the 8th inning.

Yuki Matsui spikes one warming up and Freddy Fermin exits. Bogaerts also has left the game with Song replacing him pic.twitter.com/4fvvWxnmPE

— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) June 13, 2026

Gavin Sheets smashed a home run, and Manny Machado also did as well. The offense was certainly alive for the first time in a very long time. Five home runs total for the Friars in the win.

Home cookin' pic.twitter.com/e0Dh5Wlue5

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 13, 2026

The rubber match will be early on Sunday at 10:35 PT as Walker Buehler starts for SD and Trevor Rogers for the Orioles.

Jacob Larose

Jacob grew up with Padres season tickets and walls plastered with Khalil Greene memorabilia. He has dedicated all of his young professional career towards becoming baseball’s next AJ Preller, having already worked with minor league and college teams in different roles. He is always scouring the Baseball Savant page to find the next little nugget that might help his hometown Padres (or his fantasy baseball team).