Manny Machado hit a two-run homer to become the career home runs leader for the San Diego Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. also contributed with a three-run homer, and the Padres defeated the Seattle Mariners 7-3 on Tuesday night.
Machado’s 164th homer for the Padres was a line drive to center field off George Kirby in the sixth inning, giving San Diego a 5-2 lead. The ball left his bat at almost 109 mph, and Machado watched it from home plate.
This was Machado’s 26th homer of the season, breaking his tie with Nate Colbert for the Padres’ top spot. Machado has 339 career homers from his time with Baltimore, the Dodgers, and San Diego.
He managed to get the ball back from where it landed in the park without needing any trades.
“Huge, especially in the situation of the game, give us the lead there and give us a nice little cushion,” Machado said. “Definitely a special moment there for sure that I’ll never forget.”
While Machado’s homer was significant, Tatis helped put San Diego ahead. Tatis hit a homer to right field for a 3-2 lead, marking his first home run since June 20 due to a long injury recovery from a stress reaction in his right thighbone.
Machado also added a two-run single in the seventh inning, which hit pitcher Austin Voth and then bounced into center field.
“You have guys that anchor your lineup and he’s definitely that guy that anchors it, offensively, defensively,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.
Yu Darvish pitched five innings in his second game since coming back to the Padres. Darvish (5-3) gave up solo home runs to Cal Raleigh and Luke Raley but managed to get out of a tough spot in the third inning after Seattle put the first two runners on base. Darvish struck out Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena, with a flyout from Raleigh in between.
Darvish gave up seven hits, struck out five, and didn’t walk any batters. This win marked his 201st career victory, including games in Major League Baseball and Japan’s big leagues, tying him with Hideo Nomo for second among Japanese-born pitchers, just two behind Hiroki Kuroda.
