Manny Machado hit a home run and drove in three runs, while rookie Jackson Merrill also had three RBIs as the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Monday night in the first game of a four-game series.
“We have fun every day,” Merrill said. “We play hard. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose. We’re not going to look back on the previous day. We’re here to win games.”
Rookie starter Randy Vásquez (4-6) pitched six innings to earn the win, allowing two runs and six hits.
“Whenever I’m needed, I pitch,” Vásquez said through a translator. “I’ve been eating innings, so that’s good. The results have been coming my way. Everything is pretty good.”
Machado hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his 21st of the season, and added an RBI double in the fifth. He also scored three times.
“What a nice evening for Manny. He had a big swing in the first to get us on the board,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt, who was managing his first game in St. Louis since being dismissed by the Cardinals after the 2021 season.
Merrill, who hit a game-winning homer on Sunday against the New York Mets, had a two-run single in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth. He has 28 RBIs since the All-Star break.
The Padres are 25-8 since July 20, with a .758 winning percentage. This ties them with Arizona for the best record in the majors during that time. San Diego is one game behind the Diamondbacks for the top National League wild card spot.
The Padres had won only one of their previous 10 games in St. Louis.
“They took advantage of their opportunities,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “They bunched together hits with walks and scored seven.”
Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn, and Alec Burleson each had three hits for St. Louis.
