SAN DIEGO -- The Padres scored early and late and otherwise rode their excellent pitching staff to a 5-1 victory in Wednesday’s series finale against the Angels at Petco Park.
“That was the recipe,” said manager Mike Shildt. “... Well-played game, and a good series win.”
The Padres bounced back from Monday’s ninth-inning meltdown to take the series and have now won six of their seven series at Petco Park this year. Here are a few takeaways:
1. Manny is spraying line drives and taking walks
There’s an awful lot that Manny Machado has accomplished in his 14-year big league career. But he’s never hit .300 across a full season. Machado batted .304 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, but otherwise, .298 in ’22 is his career high.
This year, Machado is hitting .340, second in the National League. He’s doing so with by far the highest rate of line drives in his career, at 32.8 percent entering Wednesday, according to Statcast.
“You’re talking about a dangerous hitter who’s gotten even more dangerous,” Shildt said. “Because now he’s just not chasing, and he’s not going to get himself out.”
Indeed, Machado’s 11 percent walk rate is also a career high.
“I’m just playing the game,” Machado said. “The older you get, you know what they’re trying to do to you, how they’re trying to attack you.”
Machado is in the midst of one of his finest seasons, despite the fact that he’s homered only three times thus far. That’s not of any concern, given the underlying metrics and how hard Machado is hitting the ball.
“The power is always there,” said hitting coach Victor Rodríguez. “But you do those things, you use the field, he’s taking his walks, taking his hits -- he’s in a good position. He’s seeing the ball good. He’s not trying to do too much. He’s just driving the ball wherever it’s pitched.”
2. Bullpen bounces back
No sugarcoating it: It’s been ugly lately at the back end. Nine days ago, the Padres had by far the best bullpen ERA in baseball. But starting with their implosion last Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, they entered Wednesday having posted a 15.28 ERA in the last seven games.
The Padres needed a night like this one.
Jeremiah Estrada and Jason Adam were unavailable, having pitched each of the past two games. But even without two of its best arms, the San Diego ’pen finished the night with three scoreless, hitless innings -- one apiece from Alek Jacob, Adrian Morejon and Robert Suarez.
“We had some guys down today,” Shildt said. “Good bullpens have guys that … when you have a couple guys down like we did tonight, you have the guys that can step up and bring it home, too.”
On that front, Jacob and Morejon were excellent, pitching in higher leverage than usual. But the most encouraging performance came from Suarez, who was stunningly poor on Monday in his first blown save of the season. He’d allowed just one run all season before allowing five that night. He’d surrendered only four walks -- until his night ended with four walks in a row.
Afterward, the Padres were staunch in their belief Suarez would bounce back. He quickly proved them right, striking out Jorge Soler and Taylor Ward to end the night. Regularly scheduled programming had resumed.
3. Left-field shakeup?
Xander Bogaerts put the Padres on top with a three-run blast in the first, and their pitching was excellent all night, particularly starter Randy Vásquez, who worked six innings of one-run ball.
But the game hung in the balance when Brandon Lockridge strode to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth.
Lockridge got a rare start against a right-hander on Wednesday, with Shildt partly citing the reverse splits for Angels starter Kyle Hendricks, but mostly, Shildt said, “I’m just liking the at-bats overall.”
Sure enough, Lockridge laced a fastball for a single off righty reliever Jose Fermin, giving the Padres two crucial insurance runs.
“Huge hit right toward the end right there to kind of open up the game,” Bogaerts said.
Lockridge is on the roster primarily as a bench piece. He’s elite at running the bases and an outstanding defender. He’s also batting .300 in nine games since returning from the injured list in early May.
Lockridge has played primarily against left-handed pitching this season, but given Jason Heyward’s struggles, he might be making a case for more playing time as the regular starter in left field.