San Diego Padres: Manny Machado provides decisive blast

The San Diego Padres record remains unblemished thanks to a decisive Manny Machado home run on Saturday.

Following up on Friday night’s thrilling Opening Day win, highlighted by two Eric Hosmer bases-clearing doubles, the San Diego Padres and Diamondbacks met up for Game 2 in the series. Dinelson Lamet was on the mound for the Friars, with Robbie Ray taking the ball for the away squad.

And for the second consecutive night, it looked like a pitching duel was in the cards through the first few innings. Lamet looked brilliant overall on the evening, tossing five innings with eight strikeouts while allowing just one earned run.

The Padres couldn’t touch Ray through the first three innings, but they opened the scoring in the fourth frame. With two men on, Wil Myers stepped into the box. On a 2-2 pitch, the Padres right fielder smashed a three-run bomb over the left field wall.

The score remained deadlocked at 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a ground rule double on a line-drive to centerfield, setting up a golden opportunity for Manny Machado.

The Padres third baseman has gotten off to a tough start this year, but on a 3-0 pitch, Machado had the green light, sending the pitch into orbit.

With the Friars leading 5-1, both Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates slammed the door in what is expected to be a regular occurrence this season.

With a 2-0 record heading into Sunday’s finale, the Padres are just one of three teams in the league left with a perfect record. It’s still early, but this is the best possible start to the shortened season.