The San Diego Padres will look to build momentum and win a road series when they face the Cincinnati Reds in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday.
The Padres’ big stars broke out in a big way Saturday in a 12-5 win that snapped a season-high six-game losing streak. Despite their slump, the Padres have beaten Cincinnati in 15 of 18 games dating to June 17, 2021.
Manny Machado homered twice and drove in three runs, Juan Soto had a three-run tiebreaking homer and drove in four runs, and Fernando Tatis Jr. had two hits and three RBIs to lead San Diego.
The Padres still stand seven games under .500 and mired in fourth place in the National League West. But the players and their manager believe there’s still plenty of time in the second half of the season to make up lost ground.
“The first half is over,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ve got to have a different second half. I think more than anything, you’ve got to put that stuff away. What comes first, confidence or success? We have plenty of guys who have had success.
“That’s part of the focus. The only game that matters is today’s game. Don’t get bogged down in yesterday’s game or the day before. Just go out and try to concentrate on that particular game or that at-bat.”
The Reds suffered a rare blowout loss Saturday, just their fourth defeat in their past 19 games. Jonathan India broke out of a slump with a seventh-inning grand slam that traveled an estimated 430 feet to straightaway center.
Before the slam, India was mired in a 4-for-35 slump, dropping his average to .253 from .271.
“It doesn’t feel great to lose, but it’s part of the game,” he said. “You’re not going to win every game. It’s baseball. They won. We’ll win (Sunday). So all we can worry about is the present. We can’t focus about it and how we lost this game or how it could have done differently. We lost, plain and simple. Move onto (Sunday). Win (Sunday) and win the series.”
The Reds lead the majors with 30 comeback wins, including Friday night’s dramatic 7-5 victory in 11 innings. Matt McLain tied it with two outs in the 10th inning with a two-run homer. Another rookie, Spencer Steer, won it with a two-run walk-off homer an inning later.
“It says a lot about our character and how we go about our business,” McLain said. “We’re just trying to help the team win.”
McLain extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a first-inning double Saturday against San Diego starter Michael Wacha.
The Reds will send another rookie sensation to the mound in the series finale, which is Cincinnati’s final home game before the All-Star break this month.
Lefty Andrew Abbott (4-0, 1.21 ERA) will make his sixth big-league start when he takes the mound Sunday. The Reds have won all five of his starts, and he is one of just four Cincinnati pitchers since 1893 with at least four wins in his first five MLB starts.
The Padres hope right-hander Yu Darvish (5-6, 4.84) will be able to return from flu-like symptoms and make his first start since a June 21 loss at San Francisco. Right-hander Pedro Avila has been recalled from Triple-A El Paso in the event Darvish is not strong enough to make the assignment.
Against the Reds, Darvish has a record of 4-3 and a 3.34 ERA.
Avila is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in four games (two starts) since 2019. He’s spent this season at Triple-A El Paso and is 1-5 with an 8.49 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts).
–Field Level Media
