Padres' offense remains very Manny-heavy

MIAMI -- With the Padres at risk of losing a second consecutive game via shutout, there was a lot on the line when Miami-area native Manny Machado stepped to the plate in the top of the seventh inning vs. the Marlins.

San Diego had loaded the bases for the second time on Tuesday night at loanDepot park. Machado took a pair of balls, then swung over a pitch and fouled off a strike to run the count even. On the fifth pitch from rookie Andrew Nardi, who was making his Major League debut, Machado saw a pitch he liked: an 83.6 mph slider that he rocketed to the warning track in left-center field, the perfect spot to split the gap between the Marlins’ outfielders.

• Machado a Padres constant

It wasn’t a grand slam for “Slam Diego,” which would have given the club its first lead over the Marlins this series. Instead, Machado’s bases-clearing double tied the game before Miami pulled ahead for good to hand San Diego a 4-3 loss.

Machado entered the night riding a six-game multi-hit streak -- which he extended to seven games thanks to a single in the top of the ninth inning -- and coming off his seventh career Player of the Week honor (his third NL honor and first since 2020).

“It feels like he's got a chance to be Player of the Week every week,” manager Bob Melvin said prior to the series opener on Monday. “So looking at the numbers today, [it] certainly suits him. … It's kind of what Manny does, so not a surprise.”

Of course none of it’s surprising -- especially not that bases-clearing double -- given that Machado entered Tuesday with the second-most extra-base hits on non-fastballs in the Majors (29, behind the Braves’ Austin Riley with 34). But what was likely surprising to some in the clubhouse was that the Padres suffered their second consecutive loss, and third loss in four games against teams below .500 (Washington and Miami). The pair of losses to the Marlins set the Padres back where they started on Friday, prior to their loss to the Nationals: in the third NL Wild Card slot, barely ahead of the Brewers.

“You talk about opponents we’re supposed to beat,” Melvin said, “we're just trying to win every game no matter who we're playing. So I don't think we go into a series and say we have to win this game. It's -- every game is important right now, no matter who we're playing.”

Some games do matter more than others though. Especially when the offense isn’t producing at the clip it’s expected to. Melvin acknowledged that, too, after Tuesday’s loss.

“We got [starter Edward] Cabrera out of there,” Melvin said. “He's got really good stuff, too. We made him throw some pitches and got him out of there, got to the bullpen and tied the game. Just didn't do quite enough after that.”

San Diego did work the counts well. By the end of the second inning, Cabrera had tossed 52 pitches. The Padres stranded the bases loaded, but nonetheless Cabrera was already getting taxed. By the end of the third, Cabrera was up to 70 pitches. He went just one more inning before his day was done.

Getting Cabrera out of the game was crucial as the Marlins’ only available relievers were their lower-leverage arms. But aside from Machado’s double in the seventh, the Padres went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12.

It didn’t help that in the eighth, Wil Myers was caught trying to take third base after tagging up at second on a Trent Grisham flyout to right field, the Padres going from a runner in scoring position and no outs to no runners on base and two outs in a matter of seconds.

Melvin agreed that Myers should have tried for third. The skipper credited Brian Anderson’s throw, which registered at 95.5 mph and was considered elite by MLB’s standards, with hurting the Padres’ chances, rather than placing blame on Myers.

“They made a good throw from right field; [it’s Grisham’s] job to try to pull the ball and get [Myers] over,” Melvin said, “and when the ball was in the air, I thought it was enough. But [Anderson] made a great, great throw to third -- it was actually probably the biggest play of the game, certainly at the time.

“We didn't do a whole lot offensively, and then all of a sudden we perk up and score three runs. I thought we were in a good position to win, we just didn't do it.”