2020 Simulated Season: Machado hits decisive grand slam against Reds

In Strat-O-Matic’s simulation, Manny Machado’s grand slam in the ninth inning gave the Padres a 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Strat-O-Matic has been simulating the Padres 2020 season, and Manny Machado came up huge in Sunday’s virtual victory at the Great American Ball Park.

Chris Paddack was shaky over 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs and striking out seven. Eric Hosmer‘s solo blast and Francisco Mejia‘s two-run shot got the Friars on the board. And trailing 6-3 entering the top of the ninth inning, the Padres turned it on, loading the bases on a Josh Naylor infield single.

With one out, Machado launched a grand slam off Reds’ closer Raisel Iglesias to left field. His blast was number 11 on the virtual season and took sole possession as the team’s RBI-leader after previously being tied with Fernando Tatis Jr. The key hit ended an 0-4 day for Machado, who improved his batting to .259 on the season.

After stunning the Reds, Kirby Yates came in to lock down his 15th save of the year, giving Michel Baez the win in the process. Around the rest of the box score, Wil Myers went 2-4 with a single and a double, improving his batting average to .218.

Paddack, obviously, received a no-decision for his efforts and sits at a 4.43 ERA in 69.0 innings on the year. Tatis went 1-3 on the day, and Tommy Pham went 2-5, increasing their averages to .299 and .251, respectively.

The Padres now sit at 30-23 on the year and will return home to open up against a three-game virtual series against the Diamondbacks.

The two teams split their two-game series back in mid-April as Garrett Richards struck out four over eight innings in the first game.