MINNEAPOLIS -- It's not worth overstating the importance of a baseball game in early May. The Padres didn't so much need a win in Minnesota on Tuesday night. Their season would've carried on just the same without one.

But as early-season victories go, inside the visitors' clubhouse at Target Field, this one felt awfully satisfying. After a rough weekend against the rival Dodgers, the Padres did precisely what they needed to do in Minneapolis: They bounced back.

In a 6-1 victory over the Twins, the Padres did it all. They played small ball in the seventh -- a go-ahead two-run rally that consisted of three Minnesota errors, two walks, two steals and a safety squeeze. Then, they got the long ball in the ninth -- a towering three-run homer from Manny Machado to put the game out of reach.

On top of that, Juan Soto went 4-for-4 and Michael Wacha pitched six excellent frames. The Padres aren’t off to the flying start they wanted, sitting 19-17 and in third place in the NL West. That doesn’t mean their expectations and ambitions have changed in the slightest.

“It’s just been inconsistent,” Machado said. “One [aspect] working one day, the other not working, and vice versa. It’s just putting it all together -- if we can do that, we’re going to be the best team in baseball.”

San Diego hasn't looked the part yet. But on a night like this one, it was hard to argue with Machado’s assertion, especially considering the two catalysts on offense.

Machado and Soto started the season slowly. Recently, however, they’ve begun to heat up. Facing Minnesota, manager Bob Melvin shook up his lineup, dropping Soto and Machado to the No. 3 and 4 spots, respectively. Then, Soto reached in all five of his plate appearances. Machado, on top of his clinching homer, made two outstanding barehanded plays. In short, this was how it’s supposed to look.

“The last two weeks, you look at it and we’ve been having good at-bats overall,” Machado said. “I wish we could go 4-for-4 every day and hit a homer every day. Baseball doesn’t work that way. The other guy’s got to eat, too, and the other teams are really good.”

The Padres and Twins entered the seventh inning tied, before a truly bizarre San Diego rally. Ha-Seong Kim led off by reaching on a slow dribbler to first base. He advanced on a walk, stole third on a heads-up play in which he realized the bag had been vacated, then scored on Austin Nola’s squeeze.

The Padres tacked on another when Fernando Tatis Jr. stole second and went to third on the first of two throwing errors from Twins catcher Christian Vázquez. The second was the strange one. Tatis was walking back to third, practically on the bag, when Vázquez threw anyway. The ball hit Tatis and caromed away. He scored easily.

“I always said it,” Tatis said. “When we play small ball, the long ball always comes by itself. We play small ball, we move the runners like we did and score the runners -- that’s good baseball, and that’s going to carry us for the rest of the season.”

The three-run homer helps, too, though.

“Little baseball, big baseball, whatever it is,” Machado said. “Just play good baseball overall.”

In theory, these Padres are built to do both. If, indeed, Machado and Soto are heating up, that bodes well. Machado is slashing .357/.426/.714 over his past 10 games. Meanwhile, Soto -- for all that’s been made about his slow start -- leads San Diego with a wholly respectable .833 OPS.

That number is not up to the lofty standard Soto has set for himself. But he’s clearly trending in the right direction. His quality of contact is particularly encouraging. During his early-season struggles, Soto was too pull happy, prone to pounding the ball into the ground toward the right side. But on Tuesday night, he peppered both gaps and used the middle of the field expertly.

“Every swing I take, I’m just thinking of that,” Soto said. “We saw something today that just helps me a little bit more. I did it, and it worked the whole day.”

No, Soto wouldn’t reveal the specifics of that tweak, other than to note that it was more a mindset shift than anything else -- “to make sure I square the ball, instead of just missing it.”

Whatever the driving force behind Soto’s big day, the Padres believe staunchly that this is what he’s capable of -- what they’re capable of.

“We certainly have the ability to do that in the middle of the order,” Melvin said. “It happened tonight. Juan had a great game. Manny had a huge swing. We’ll take it.”