Padres Show Some Offense From Tatis Jr., Machado in 7-6 Win Over Braves In Ten

The San Diego Padres won their second straight game against the Atlanta Braves, 7-6 in ten innings on a walkoff single by Manny Machado in a game that also included a rare home from from Fernando Tatis Jr. 

This was a very different game from the series opener. That win was a pitchers duel, but this was a back-and-forth affair with the two teams scoring a total of nine runs in the second inning alone.

The Braves started the scoring with a four-run burst off bulk reliever Griffin Canning in a disastrous second inning that featured a two-run RBI single from Rowdy Tellez, a run-scoring double from MIchael Harris II and a bases-loaded walk to Matt Olson. 

The Padres came right back, though, on a pair of walks from Braves rookie starter JR Ricthie, followed by consecutive singles from Rodolfo Duran and Sung-Mun Song, after which Tatis began his big day with a two-run RBI double. That made it 4-3, with the last two runs of the inning scoring on an infield hit by Samad Taylor and a two-run throwing error from shortstop Mauricio Dubon to make it 5-4. 

The Braves bounced back with solo runs in the fourth and fifth innings off Kyle Hart and Yuki Matsui, respectively, but the Padres tied the game at 6-6 in the seventh on Tatis’ third home run of the season.  

Neither team scored in the eighth, and manager Craig Stammen brought on closer Mason Miller in the ninth for what turned out to be a two-inning win that featured a trio of strikeouts.

Shutting down the visiting team in the top of the tenth is almost always a sure road to a win, and when Miller did just that Machado quickly ended the suspense with a single to center that scored ghost runner Jackson Merrill. 

The offensive production was especially welcome, and the series win bumped the Padres record to 41-37. It also gave them some breathing room in second place over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it was good to see Tatis finally hit for power as he continued his hot run at the plate, not to mention more clutch offense from Machado. 

“That was impressive,” Machado said afer the game in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “Being down four and coming back and winning that ballgame, keep fighting till the end -- that shows a lot about the team. We picked up each other.”