Manny Machado might finally be finding the form that’s made him one of the most feared hitters in the majors over the last decade.
After homering Monday for the only run in the San Diego Padres’ 1-0 shutout of the visiting Atlanta Braves, Machado walked off a 7-6 win Tuesday night by lining an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Fresh off Machado’s heroics, the Padres are now positioned to aim for a sweep of the three-game series in Wednesday’s finale.
Machado is hitting just .185 but has looked more like his old self lately instead of an old hitter. Fastballs that have beaten him most of the season are now leaving the bat at 104.9 mph, as his winning hit did Tuesday night.
“He’s had a few walkoffs in his life and at any moment, we feel like he’s the guy who can break out and lead the team to victory,” San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. “A lot of eyes follow him in the clubhouse.”
Machado has knocked in seven runs over the last four games, five of them in Saturday’s 6-4 win in 10 innings against the Texas Rangers. Despite the lowest average of his career, Machado still is in position for a 30-homer, 100-RBI season with a normal second half.
For his part, Machado said he kept his approach simple during his 10th-inning at-bat.
“I’m just looking for good contact,” he said.
Left-hander JP Sears will try to prevent the Braves from making good contact in his first start in the majors this year. Sears was called up Tuesday when right-hander Lucas Giolito went on the injured list with an ailing elbow.
Sears struggled at Triple-A El Paso in 14 starts this year, pitching to a 7.92 ERA in one of the minors’ best hitting environments. In three career appearances (all starts) against Atlanta, Sears is 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA.
Opposing Sears will be another left-hander, Martin Perez (6-3, 2.78).
Perez last worked on Friday night, allowing one run on six hits over six innings in a 3-2 win over Milwaukee.
In his career, Perez is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three games (two starts) against San Diego. He’s tasked with being the stopper for a team that’s 3-9 in its last 12 games after Tuesday night’s setback.
Offense has been the problem lately, which surprises first-year manager Walt Weiss.
While some lineup changes appeared to spark the bats on Tuesday night, Atlanta has been held to two runs or fewer four times during that 12-game stretch.
“Our offense is going to be fine,” he said. “It’s a good offense. It’s the cycle of a season. Offenses go through it more than any other aspect of a team, the ups and downs.”
Injuries to Ronald Acuna Jr. and Drake Baldwin haven’t helped. Baldwin returned last week and promptly cranked out a 473-foot homer before going into the tank offensively. He is 2-for-30 with 18 strikeouts in his last seven games.
“Just trying to get back into the speed of a big league game,” he said. “I’m just trying to find the timing and get back into the flow of it.”
–Field Level Media
