Orioles vs. Padres lineups and game preview 6/25/19: The return of Manny
The Baltimore Orioles face the San Diego Padres this evening at Camden Yards in the first game of a series that will be just as exciting for its story line as it will for its play on the field.
The Orioles enter the series in last place and own the worst record in baseball, while the Padres have hovered around .500 for most of the season, currently sitting 15 games out of first in the National League West.
The Orioles will send Jimmy Yacabonis to the mound to face the Padres tonight. Yacabonis, making only his second start of the season, is 1-1 on the year with a 4.70 ERA. The Padres will start rookie left-hander Logan Allen. Allen has made only one start in his career, allowing three hits and no runs, while striking out five in a win last Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
This evening has been circled on the calendar by Orioles fans for quite some time, since it marks the return of one of the Orioles’ greatest superstars in recent team history, Manny Machado.
Machado was drafted by the Birds in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft and played with the team from 2012, until being traded in 2018.
During his time in Baltimore, Machado became a fan favorite, appearing in four All-Star games and collecting two Gold-Gloves, including a Platinum Glove in 2013.
His impressive offensive stats and highlight-reel defensive plays had fans hoping that he would be the cornerstone of the team for years to come. That hope faded as time passed and crashed completely when Machado was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers July 19, 2018 for five prospects: outfielder Yusniel Diaz, right-hander Dean Kremer, third baseman Rylan Bannon, righty Zach Pop, and third baseman Breyvic Valera.
The question for this evening is, will Oriole fans cheer their one-time hero or boo him as the current villain and face of all that is wrong with the Orioles in 2019?
Lineups for each team are posted below. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. ET, and the game can be seen on MASN.
