Machado, Tatis getting in sync with All-Star form

SAN DIEGO -- Early in the season, as the Padres stormed to one of the best starts in franchise history, Fernando Tatis Jr. was a driving force at the plate. As the season wore on and Tatis began to struggle, Manny Machado’s steadiness kept the offense afloat.

At various times this year, the Padres’ two biggest superstars have looked the part. As a result, they’re both headed to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta. But the reality is: Throughout the first half, Tatis and Machado haven’t gotten hot at the same time.

Until now?

The Padres rode their All-Stars to a 4-2 victory over the Phillies on Friday night before a rocking Petco Park. Tatis reached base three times and made a brilliant play on a short-hop in right field to record a forceout at second base. Machado, meanwhile, became the first player to reach 100 career home runs at Petco Park with his oppo drive in the bottom of the eighth providing valuable insurance.

“That’s what we’re capable of doing,” Tatis said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

On Thursday, Machado and Tatis homered in the same game for just the second time all season. Both have put forth their share of signature moments this month -- including Machado’s 2,000th career hit on Monday night.

For much of the first half, the Padres’ offense has underwhelmed. But it’s clearly a different beast when Machado and Tatis are mashing.

“Hopefully we continue doing it,” Machado said. “... We’ve got to do it as a group and not just one at a time.”

Indeed, there’s clearly still room for this Padres offense to improve. Jackson Merrill remains mired in the worst slump of his big league career. The bottom of the lineup is still a major question mark -- one likely to be addressed ahead of the Trade Deadline.

But if Machado and Tatis are both hitting, well, that’s been the blueprint for plenty of success in San Diego over the past six years.

“It just does a lot for us,” Shildt said. “... Manny and Tati going with those other guys having quality at-bats is a recipe for the offensive machine.”

That hasn’t been the case often this season. Tatis posted a monstrous April, hitting .345 with a 1.011 OPS. That OPS dipped to .791 over the next two months. In the meantime, Machado’s climbed from .759 at the end of April to .831 by the end of June.

For a number of reasons -- mostly unrelated to Machado and Tatis -- the Padres have underperformed offensively this season. Despite their big names, they entered play Friday night ranked 17th in wRC+ -- an all-encompassing hitting metric, 3% below league average.

As a result, the Padres have often asked their pitching to carry them. Lately, that burden has fallen heavily on their bullpen. Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez -- the “Four Horsemen” as Shildt has begun calling them -- all pitched in Thursday’s victory over Arizona. Then, they all pitched again -- a scoreless inning apiece -- in Friday’s win over Philadelphia.

“I wish that we could give them more [runs],” said Tatis. “So they could sit down, relax a little bit. But we’re going out there as a group and just competing. … It’s beautiful to see them lock in and save the lead. What they’re doing right now is really special.”

Special enough that the Padres will be the first team in MLB history to send three relievers to the All-Star Game, after Morejon was a late addition to the National League roster on Friday, joining Suarez and Adam.

But the combination of a struggling offense and a lockdown bullpen comes with a cost. Only 10 pitchers in the Majors have made 45 appearances this season. Three of them -- Adam, Morejon and Estrada -- are Padres.

“It's almost vital [to win] if we’re going to use that capital,” Shildt said. “Like tonight, when all those guys are going to be compromised for tomorrow, you’ve got to win. You’ve got to get them in the boat. Once we start firing ‘em, they’re going. And they’ve done a tremendous job.”

Still, Shildt has also been clear that he can’t be asking this much of his bullpen on a nightly basis. Each of the Padres’ last 10 victories have come with either a save situation or a walk-off.

“It’s legal,” Shildt quipped Thursday, “to win 7-3 or 8-2.”

And there are two superstars toward the top of the lineup who might be able to help with that.