LOS ANGELES_In the short time Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has worked with Manny Machado, he's witnessed the flashes. He is an elite talent capable of propelling a club to victories. But Machado's production at the plate hasn't met expectations since the Dodgers acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles in mid-July to serve as their lineup's anchor. He's been prone to chasing pitches, particularly in high-leverage spots, and his numbers as a Dodger illustrated a steep dropoff from his production before the trade. On Saturday afternoon, before the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 7-2 at Dodger Stadium, Roberts offered his informed opinion on his shortstop.
"He's been around long enough to know what he needs to do," Roberts said. "But I think there is a human element to being the guy when the situation presents itself. You want to be the guy. That's hard to force and you can see that teams are pitching to him carefully until he shows that he can adjust."
Machado found himself in one of those high-leverage situations again on his bobblehead night Saturday, which began with his wife, Yainee, throwing out the first pitch to him. The spot developed in the third inning. The Dodgers had runners on first base and second base with one out. Rookie right-hander Jacob Nix was on the mound. Los Angeles already had a 3-0 lead and Nix was teetering. An early knockout was feasible. It was another chance to be the guy as his new team pushes for a sixth straight division crown.
Nix commenced the clash with a 93 mph fastball up in the strike zone. Machado, who entered the day with a .263 batting average and .795 OPS as a Dodger, clubbed it over the wall in right-center field. It was his 12th home run with Los Angeles and 36th overall, and it created a rout.
Nix lasted one more batter, forcing the Padres (62-93) to use four relievers to complete the drubbing. Joc Pederson and Yasmani Grandal each added solo home runs for the Dodgers (86-69) as they set a franchise record with 222 this season, eclipsing the record established last season.
The victory kept Los Angeles 1{ games ahead of the Colorado Rockies for first place in the National League West with seven games remaining and one game behind the Atlanta Braves for homefield advantage in a potential National League Division Series. The Dodgers will host the Padres Sunday in their final regular season home game before embarking on a six-game road trip to close the campaign.
Los Angeles avoided a second straight loss to the last-place club with an unusual lineup. Rather than going lefty-heavy against the right-handed Nix, the team disregarded the club's recent affinity for platoons and went lefty-right-lefty through the entire batting order. Joc Pederson was atop the order and he supplied the Dodgers an instant lead with a leadoff homer on Nix's second pitch. The pitch, a 92 mph fastball, was high out of the strike zone. Pederson tomahawked it 112.6 mph down the right-field line. It was Pederson's 10th career leadoff home run and seventh this season.
Pederson helped power the Dodgers' next surge. Chris Taylor sparked it with a leadoff single before Pederson mashed a line drive to the left-center gap for a one-out ground-rule double. Justin Turner then tucked a chopper down the left-field line to score Taylor and Pederson. Turner ended up at second with a well-placed double and the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead.
Two batters later, after Max Muncy was plunked, Machado doubled the margin. Cody Bellinger then clubbed a double, knocking Nix out of the game. He threw 46 pitches in 2 1/3 innings, leaving San Diego's bullpen to record 17. It did so while allowing just one run_Grandal's solo shot in the sixth inning.
The effort was moot with Rich Hill shutting the Padres down over seven innings. Pitching on an extra day of rest, the 38-year-old left-hander limited San Diego to one run on four hits. He compiled seven strikeouts and didn't walk a batter as he recorded his longest outing since July 26. The lone run came on Hunter Renfroe's home run in the sixth inning. He exited after 93 pitches.
The Dodgers were enjoying a six-run lead by then, putting Hill in line to become their first 10-game winner this season. The Padres didn't threaten again until the ninth inning, when Roberts, playing the matchups in a blowout, used two relievers before inserting Kenley Jansen with a five-run lead. The closer entered after Tony Cingrani surrendered an RBI single to Manuel Margot. He promptly struck out Corey Spangenberg and Travis Jankowski with the bases loaded to end the game.
