Suddenly hot Manny downs LA with slam

The Padres’ 2020 offense has borne almost no resemblance to their offenses from the past decade. San Diego entered play Tuesday leading the Majors in homers and slugging percentage, while ranked second in runs scored. It’s a stark contrast from years of futility at the plate.

The wildest part? That turnaround has taken shape almost entirely without contributions from Manny Machado.

But the Padres’ $300 million man is suddenly heating up. Machado launched a go-ahead grand slam at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, sending the Padres to a 6-2 victory and bringing the two National League West rivals level at 11-7 this season.

• Box score

Machado has now homered three times in three games, going 5-for-12 with four extra-base hits in that span. His OPS has climbed from a paltry .636 to a wholly respectable .813; three days was all it took.

"He's starting to find the sweet part of the bat a little bit," Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “Being able to go dead center right there and drive the ball to the middle part of the field, that’s usually a sign of good things to come.”

• Source: Padres trade for Machado's brother-in-law Yonder Alonso

There were indications that Machado might be due for a breakthrough. Recently, his expected statistics began to tick up, as he started making solid contact. It took until Sunday for the results to follow.

“It's been going right at people for the last couple weeks,” Machado said. “To finally get a ball I could drive and hit over the fence -- it was a big win for us.”

• Notes: Eric Hosmer producing; Kirby Yates' balky back

Machado’s third-inning slam was the 10th of his career, putting the Padres on top, 5-1. He capitalized on a hanging slider from Ross Stripling, sending it a projected 410 feet to straightaway center field. It whipped the Padres’ dugout into a frenzy.

“It's getting pretty fun out there,” Machado said when asked about the atmosphere on the San Diego bench, and evidently, Stripling has noticed, too.

“They have intensity coming from their dugout,” said the Dodgers’ right-hander. “I don't necessarily know if it's more than years prior, or whatnot. I think they are confident in their team and that they took a good step forward this year, made some good trades in the offseason.

“I think they feel confident and don't necessarily feel like they're a lesser team than us. I think they feel like they can compete with us and they've shown it. We've played them five times and it seems like every game has been a good one.”

The Padres have now won three of those five, as Machado’s slam was all the offense Garrett Richards needed. The right-hander was excellent over six innings of one-run ball, and the Padres’ bullpen -- which has suddenly found its form -- took care of the rest.

“We expect to win every single game that we play,” Richards said. “I feel like that’s such a different vibe than last year.”

Five-tool Tatis
There’s been plenty of talk about Fernando Tatis Jr.’s power lately, and for good reason. But a reminder: He’s got a cannon, too.

Tatis, who went 2-for-5 to bring his season batting average to .333, put his otherworldly arm strength on display in the bottom of the third inning. Cody Bellinger hit a slow chopper to second base that Jake Cronenworth flipped to Tatis, covering the bag.

Tatis didn’t have much time for the double play. But he didn’t need much time. Tatis uncorked a 92.8 mph rocket to first base, nabbing Bellinger by a stride. It was the second hardest throw for an infield assist this season, trailing only a 93 mph throw by the Braves’ Johan Camargo.

Not that Tatis’ excellent arm should surprise anyone. He led all full-time infielders last season by averaging 92 mph on max-effort throws (the top 10 percent of a player’s sample).

Clearly, Tatis’ arm is a weapon. He also used it to nab Chris Taylor at the plate in the third inning with a perfect relay after Enrique Hernández’s double, which led to ...

Things get chippy at the plate
Tatis’ throw one-hopped Padres catcher Austin Hedges, who fielded the ball slightly up the first-base line and turned to tag Taylor. At first glance, it looked like a fairly routine play at the plate. But Hedges took exception.

Replays showed Taylor veered into Hedges, despite the fact that Hedges had provided Taylor with a lane to the plate. Perhaps the strangest part of the encounter was that Taylor likely would’ve been safe at the plate, had he slid toward the outer edge.

In any case, Hedges barked a few words in Taylor’s direction. Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, in the on-deck circle, chirped back. But cooler heads prevailed and the two sides would retreat to their respective dugouts.

“It’s grown men playing baseball, and it’s a competitive series,” Tingler said. “There may have been some words afterward, but [we were] able to get our focus back in on what we needed to do.”

“We have a rivalry with these guys,” Richards said. “We’re going to try and handle it on the field. That’s the way we go about our business. Winning the game is the icing on the cake.”