Drake Baldwin forced extra innings with his 20th home run of the season, helping his club open the series with a 7-6 victory. His one-out solo drive in the eighth inning cleared the right-center-field wall and pushed him beyond the 19 homers he hit during his 2025 rookie season.

What happened

Baldwin delivered the game-changing swing with one out in the eighth. The solo shot tied the game and ensured it would continue beyond nine innings, creating the opportunity for his club to take control in the 10th.

Baldwin's side scored three runs in the top half of the extra frame. It then conceded two runs in the bottom half but protected the remaining one-run advantage to secure the 7-6 final.

The late sequence turned on Baldwin's power before becoming a test of survival. A game extended by his eighth-inning homer ended only after his club absorbed the bottom-of-the-10th response and held on.

Why it matters

The victory opened the series and improved the club's record to 61-42. That mark is 19 games above .500 as the postseason race moves into the closing days of July.

Winning the opener also gave Baldwin's team an immediate edge in the series, though the narrow finish showed how quickly a three-run extra-inning cushion could shrink. The club still completed the job, converting Baldwin's tying homer and the ensuing 10th-inning rally into a significant late-July win.

By the numbers

Baldwin reached 20 home runs in his 80th game of the season. As a rookie in 2025, he finished with 19 homers across 124 games, meaning this year's total arrived in 44 fewer appearances.

The change is also clear in his home run frequency. Baldwin improved from one homer every 6.5 games as a rookie to one every 4.0 games this season, a substantial acceleration that allowed him to establish a new personal high before the end of July.

His 20th was not merely a milestone swing. It came in a high-leverage moment, with one out in the eighth inning, and directly extended a game his club eventually won in extras.

What to watch next

The series continues Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Baldwin enters the next game with a new career high in home runs and a club sitting 19 games above .500 after a dramatic opening victory.