Manny

Machado

After a brief surge late last month took his OPS from .609 to .742, Machado came into this one 1-for-10 in his last three games. Still, he took Anthony Kay deep today to help the Padres salvage one of the three games in a home series against the White Sox. He now has five homers and 18 RBI on the season.

Machado was removed from Monday’s game with a calf injury and sat out on Tuesday, but he’ll be right back out there on Wednesday. Miguel Andujar will play third again, while Nick Castellanos will start in left field and bat eighth, with Ramon Laureano getting a day off.

Stammen added that Machado is dealing with a left calf cramp that led to his precautionary exit from the late stages of Monday’s contest against Chicago. The 33-year-old third baseman will get some extra time off to rest and recover out of an abundance of caution, but it sounds like he’s ready if needed to pinch-hit. It certainly sounds like a relatively minor concern at this juncture. Jake Cronenworth is at the hot corner in his absence with Fernando Tatis Jr. making his fifth appearance at second base this season.

It’s an extremely rare day off for Machado following a precautionary exit from Monday’s series opener due to a left leg issue. Jake Cronenworth takes over at the hot corner for the first time in his career with Fernando Tatis Jr. making another start at second base. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern, but that Padres are going to give Machado a little extra time off to rest and recover.

Stammen said that Machado didn’t look great coming out of the batter’s box on his last at-bat and also had a couple of slides at second base that “didn’t feel great on his lower half.” The Padres will talk to Machado on Tuesday and see how he’s feeling before deciding if he needs an off day or not, but Stammen said that Machado is “fine.”

After homering twice in Mexico City on Sunday, Machado picked up two more extra-base hits in the win over Chicago on Monday. The 33-year-old also singled, and it improves his slash to .232/.342/.400. Considering it was .198/.324/.291 coming into Sunday, that’s a pretty vast improvement, and those numbers should continue to climb considerably over the summer months.

Machado got most of the first homer, hitting the ball 105-mph to left center. The second homer was a 96-mph fly to right that might have been a routine out somewhere other than Mexico City. Still, Machado was due for some luck, having entered the day at .198/.324/.291 with two homers in 105 plate appearances.

It’s not often we get a 1-0 pitching duel in Colorado. Tuesday was one of those rare days when offense was scarce. Machado drove in the only run of the game with a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning. The 33-year-old third baseman has struggled to start the season, slashing .178/.326/.288 with two home runs, 10 runs scored, and 11 RBI across 92 plate appearances.

Machado took Ryan Feltner deep for a two-run shot to draw the Padres to within a run at 4-3. That’s the second homer of the season for the probable future Hall of Famer, and ups his slugging percentage to .370. Both numbers are sure to go up — assuming good health, of course — in the warmer months.

It’s just a routine day off for Machado, who doesn’t get many of those. Miguel Andujar will start at third base with Nick Castellanos in the lineup at designated hitter.