Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.

Manny Machado broke an obscure Major League record Thursday afternoon at Petco Park … and he broke it by a lot.

Machado, who was getting a rare day off, pinch-hit in the ninth inning. It was a painful experience. Machado got hit on the arm by a Rowan Wick pitch that ricocheted up and caught him on the left side of the face.

But that’s not the record.

It was Machado’s first pinch-hit appearance. And it came on his 4,679th career plate appearance. That is the longest a player has ever gone in a Major League career without appearing as a pinch-hitter.

The old mark was 2,479 plate appearances without a pinch-hitting appearance by shortstop Deivi Cruz who, coincidentally, played with the Padres a season later in 2002.

Notebook:

• Thursday marked only the second time in Padres history that the Padres struck out 19 times in a nine-inning game. The first time it happened was April 22, 1970. The starting pitcher for the Mets in that game was Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, who had all 19 strikeouts in a 2-hit, complete game won by the Mets, 2-1. On Thursday, Yu Darvish had 14 strikeouts in six innings. He was followed by relievers Kyle Ryan (two in two innings) and Rowan Wick (three in the ninth). The 19 strikeouts, by hitter; Wil Myers: 3 (although strike three was to Travis Jankowski after Myers was ejected for arguing strike 2), Eric Hosmer: 3, Josh Naylor: 3, Greg Garcia: 2, Nick Martini: 2, Ty France: 2, Luis Urias: 2, Manuel Margot: 1, Austin Allen: 1.

• SS Urías was 1-for-3 with a walk Thursday, extending his career-best hitting streak to a sixth straight game. Urias is 9-for-21 during the streak with three RBIs, two walks and two runs scored.

• OF Wil Myers’ 11-game hitting streak -- his longest since the 2017 season -- ended Thursday when he went for 0-for-4. The streak fell one game short of his career-high streak that came in ‘16. Myers was 16-for-34 during the streak with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs, five runs scored, three walks and three stolen bases during the streak and had the decisive hit in three Padres wins. His slash line during the streak: .471/.487/.771/1.258.

• LF Nick Martini’s nine-game hitting streak ended Wednesday when he went 0-for-2. But he drew two walks and was 1-for-4 with a ninth-inning double Thursday to extend his streak for reaching base to 11 straight games. He is 15-for-43 (.349) over the 11 games with three doubles, three walks, three RBIs and four runs scored.

• 2B Greg Garcia tripled Thursday and has reached base in 25 straight home starts.

• RHP David Bednar struck out two in a perfect inning Wednesday. In six Major League appearances, Bednar has allowed a hit and a walk with eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.