If the weekend is any indication, it might be time to put any concerns about Manny Machado’s limited number of homers to bed.
Machado, who belted at least 28 homers in each of the past nine full seasons, entered the ninth inning Friday night in Atlanta with just three. That was before he launched a game-winning homer off Raisel Iglesias, then sealed the San Diego Padres’ 5-3 win over the Braves on Sunday with an eighth-inning shot.
The Padres hope Machado continues hitting the long ball on Monday when they open a three-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins.
It’s not that Machado has been unproductive at the plate. He hit in 14 straight games earlier this season, the second-longest streak of his career, and is batting .321 with five homers and 23 RBIs. But the lack of homers had some wondering what was wrong.
Machado responded light-heartedly after Friday night’s game.
“I’m on pace,” he laughed, reminding the questioners that he had five at this time last season and finished with 29.
With Opening Day starter Michael King hitting the injured list, San Diego might need more production from an offense that mostly struggled during a recent six-game losing streak before showing signs of life on Sunday.
That included second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who snapped a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning by drilling a solo homer to right field. He then lined a double off the right field wall in the ninth.
“Obviously, it was a long road trip,” Cronenworth said, “but we played awesome (Sunday) and I’m looking forward to getting back to San Diego.”
Right-hander Randy Vasquez (3-4, 3.49 ERA) gets the ball to open the series. He’s coming off a 14-0 loss Wednesday night in Toronto, where he allowed two runs on four hits over 4 2/3 innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
He’s faced Miami once in his career, coming out of the New York Yankees’ bullpen in a 2023 game to get a win after yielding two runs over 3 2/3 innings.
Meanwhile, the Marlins made the short bus trip down Interstate 5 from Orange County on Sunday after earning a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels to win that series. Edward Cabrera struck out 10 batters over 5 2/3 innings to earn the win, and Javier Sanoja knocked in a run to open the scoring, then added a double and scored in the fifth.
Cabrera’s outing came a night after first-year manager Clayton McCullough pulled veteran Cal Quantrill in the fourth inning of a game in which his team led 1-0. The move panned out as Miami won 6-2, thanks to five good innings out of the bullpen from Janson Junk.
“I don’t know if that’s going to be a recipe, something we’re going to look to do each and every game,” McCullough said.
Miami will trot out former Padres pitcher Ryan Weathers (1-0, 1.80) in the series opener. The left-hander last worked on Tuesday night during his team’s 14-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, giving up one run on five hits in five innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
Weathers lost his only previous start against San Diego, permitting five runs on five hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings in a 6-2 loss on Aug. 21, 2023.
–Field Level Media
