Orioles power past Padres 7-3 as Gunnar Henderson reaches 100 career homers

The Orioles kept their momentum rolling on Friday night, beating the Padres 7-3 in the opener of their series. The result gave Baltimore a third straight win, a small but meaningful stretch in a long MLB season when rotation workload, lineup consistency, and late-inning execution all have a chance to matter at once.

At the center of the offense was Gunnar Henderson, who reached base four times and delivered three hits, including his 14th home run of the year. The homer also carried a larger career milestone, becoming Henderson’s 100th major-league home run, a pace that places him among the franchise’s quickest to reach the century mark. According to the report, he is the fourth-fastest Oriole in team history to hit 100 homers, underscoring both his power trajectory and how quickly he has grown into a core bat.

Tyler O’Neill contributed with a pair of hits as the Orioles kept the pressure on. While Henderson’s blast set a tone, the broader takeaway from Baltimore’s scoring line is that the Orioles were able to sustain productive innings rather than rely on a single swing, which often determines how comfortable a lead feels when a game is heading toward the bullpen.

On the pitching side, starter Shane Baz worked through some early trouble before settling in. The game story says Baz survived five innings despite not looking like he would early, a reminder that pitchers can be tested even in outings that end with a win. After Baz, the Orioles turned to relief, with four relievers combining to keep San Diego from scoring after that point. That kind of shutout segment matters because it limits the number of counterpunch opportunities a visiting team gets when the starter hands off with traffic still in the air.

San Diego’s scoring came early enough to make the game playable, but the Orioles’ ability to hold them scoreless after Baz’s exit turned what could have become a close finish into a controllable one. Even without the full inning-by-inning breakdown, the final score reflects a common winning blueprint in modern baseball: one or two lineup bursts, a starter who manages the first look, then a late run-prevention job that removes the drama from the ninth inning.