Manny

Machado

The American League winners will be announced on Friday night. Here is the complete list of winners for the senior circuit: Hunter Goodman (C), Pete Alonso (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Manny Machado (3B), Geraldo Perdomo (SS), Juan Soto (OF), Corbin Carroll (OF), Kyle Tucker (OF), Ohtani (DH) and Alec Burleson (UTIL). Ohtani has claimed the award in back-to-back seasons since joining the Dodgers and four times overall in his career. Soto takes home the honor in his Mets debut, giving him six in eight seasons. At this rate, he might need an entire room just to display them all by the time his 15-year megadeal is through. Alonso, Perdomo, Goodman, Carroll and Burleson are all first-time winners.

Machado gave San Diego a commanding three-run advantage with a fifth-inning homer against Cubs southpaw Shota Imanaga. The 33-year-old third baseman’s no-doubter traveled 404 feet into the left-field seats and was his 13th career playoff round-tripper since 2012. With the victory, the Padres stave off elimination to force a winner-take-all Game 3 showdown on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

With the game being inconsequential for playoff purposes, the Padres will use it as an opportunity to get their 33-year-old superstar a breather before the postseason begins. Jose Iglesias will start in his place at the hot corner and will bat sixth for the Padres against Diamondbacks’ southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez.

It’s Machado’s first four-strikeout game since Apr. 30, 2023 and sixth of his career. A poor September has his OPS down to .787, putting him in between where he finished in 2023 (.782) and 2024 (.797). He stood at .871 through four months this season.

Machado flipped this game on its head with his fifth inning grand slam. His Padres loaded the bases with a hit batsman, walk, and bunt single before he made Mets’ starter David Peterson pay for a 3-2 curveball that caught way too much of the plate. It broke a 2-2 tie and was the 14th grand slam of Machado’s career. He’s put together another excellent season with 26 homers, 14 stolen bases, and a .279 batting average.

Machado receives his first day off this season after making 149 consecutive starts. It’ll be Jose Iglesias taking over at the hot corner in this one.

Machado drew a walk in the opening inning but wound up getting stranded at third base. He then clubbed a 403-foot (100.3 mph EV) solo shot off of Bradley Blalock to open the third inning, extending the Padres’ lead to 4-1. He then smacked a two-run single in the fourth inning that made it a 7-1 ballgame. For the season, the 33-year-old third baseman is now hitting .277/.338/.464 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI on the season.

Machado’s solo blast in the first inning off the usually-ineffective Colton Gordon suggested big things for San Diego on Friday, but that didn’t come to fruition as they scored just one more time in the loss. Still, the 33-year-old picked up his 24th homer of the campaign, and he’s now driven in 85 runs with two more weeks to add to that total.

The 33-year-old slugger got the party started with a titanic 452-foot (103.0 mph EV) two-run shot off of Tanner Gordon, giving the Padres an early lead that they would never surrender. Machado also drew a walk with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, extending that advantage to 6-1. He walked in the ballgame as well, reaching base safely in three of his four plate appearances. For the season, he’s slashing a terrific .280/.342/.465 with 23 home runs and 84 RBI.

Machado, who slumped over the first half of the month, finishes up 6-for-16 with a homer, two doubles and five RBI in the four-game series against the Giants. He had just one RBI in his previous 15 games.