Machado HRs, then Padres don't look back

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres came prepared for a heavyweight bout on Monday night. Seven times this season, they'd squared off with the rival Dodgers, and each of those seven felt like an epic saga, back-and-forth in nature, one team punching and the other punching right back.

Two months later, they reconvened, playing in front of a capacity crowd for the first time since Padres-Dodgers went from rivalry to rivalry.

Only, a strange thing happened on Monday night. Instead of the knock-down, drag-out fights we saw in April, the Padres cruised to a 6-2 victory at Petco Park.

Statement made. This is a group with serious playoff ambitions, looking to make a dent in the National League West standings. These aren’t the same Padres who, as recently as 2019, offered little resistance when the Dodgers came to town.

“We’ve got a better team, obviously,” said Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who went 3-for-4 with a homer. “Think how many guys are still on the team from that year? Only a handful of guys. It’s a completely different team.”

Before they’d recorded an out, the Padres led, 4-0. Three of those runs came courtesy of Machado’s towering home run into the left-field seats, whipping the downtown San Diego ballpark into a frenzy. No, the Padres still haven’t lost a game since Petco Park reopened to full capacity last week.

“It’s been awesome, man,” Machado said. “We’re feeding off of that big-time.”

Jake Cronenworth tacked on a two-run blast in the fifth inning, and that was more than enough support for Yu Darvish. The veteran right-hander was his usual brilliant self, relying mostly on his cutter and slider to keep Dodgers hitters off-balance. But his four-seam fastball was particularly full of life as well.

Darvish allowed a Mookie Betts third-inning homer and only one other hit across six innings. He struck out 11, too, just enough to reach 1,500 strikeouts in his 197th game -- the fastest to that mark in MLB history.

“Since I came here, I’ve had my ups, and I’ve had my downs,” Darvish said. “But the reason why I’m sitting here, being able to talk about reaching 1,500 strikeouts is definitely because of all the support I’ve been given since I started my career here. Just from the bottom of my heart, I’m really thankful and grateful.”

Facing the Dodgers, Darvish said, brings a different level of excitement, and his results back it up. In four career starts against his former team, Darvish owns a 1.33 ERA.

For six innings, Petco Park could simply revel in Darvish’s excellence, with the Padres staked to a comfortable enough lead. The sellout crowd responded in kind.

“Obviously a great vibe,” Darvish said. “You don’t necessarily hear it that much while you’re pitching. But what makes me happy is to see our guys -- they really like it, playing in front of all these fans. Their faces seem to really light up.”

The atmosphere was particularly raucous in the fifth inning. Fernando Tatis Jr., who sat out Sunday’s game after aggravating his left shoulder, returned to the lineup on Monday. (It marked the first time in four instances this season that Tatis returned after a health-related absence and did not homer. Instead, he settled for two hits and two walks.)

Tatis opened the fifth inning with a line-drive double into the left-field corner, prompting a chorus of “Beat L.A.” as Cronenworth strode to the dish. Dodgers starter Julio Urías hung a curveball with his final pitch of the night. Cronenworth didn’t miss.

“He’s just a really good player,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “And he just continues to play well in these big games.”

Cronenworth’s two-run blast erased most of the doubt. The Padres’ five-run lead was threatened only once more, but Betts flied to center with the bases loaded to end the seventh.

The reality? The highly anticipated return of Padres-Dodgers didn’t quite live up to the lofty standards these two teams set for themselves in April. That’s because the Padres came out swinging, and Darvish wouldn’t permit the Dodgers a counterpunch.