Manny Machado came through in the clutch Tuesday night, delivering a walk-off single on the first pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 7-6 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves.
Jackson Merrill was placed at second base as the automatic runner to begin the extra frame. Machado then drove a fastball from Raisel Iglesias — who dropped to 0-2 on the season — right up the middle, and Merrill raced home to seal the win for San Diego.
Mason Miller improved to 2-1 on the year after throwing two spotless innings to close things out. Before Machado’s heroics, Miller got out of a jam in the 10th by retiring Eli White on a groundball to short, stranding what would have been the go-ahead run at third base.
The contest was a stark contrast to Monday’s series opener, when the two clubs combined for just 11 hits in a 1-0 San Diego win. Tuesday’s second inning alone saw eight hits, 87 pitches, nine runs, and took 42 minutes to complete.
Atlanta struck first in that wild frame, tagging Griffin Canning — slotted as the Padres’ bulk reliever — for four runs. Rowdy Tellez knocked a two-run single up the middle, and Michael Harris II followed two batters later with an RBI double down the right field line. Matt Olson then drew a bases-loaded walk off Kyle Hart to cap the Braves’ outburst. Harris finished the game 3-for-5.
San Diego answered immediately, erupting for five runs off Braves starter JR Ritchie in the bottom of the second. Rodolfo Duran and Sung-Mun Song each knocked RBI singles to left field. Fernando Tatis Jr. added an RBI double to right, and Samad Taylor — who went 3-for-4 on the night — legged out an infield single to tie things up, with a throwing error allowing Tatis to score as well.
Atlanta reclaimed a share of the lead in the fourth inning when Harris singled to right and eventually came around to score on an Ozzie Albies double to left. The Braves then took a 6-5 advantage in the fifth when Mauricio Dubon launched a solo home run to left-center — his eighth of the season.
Tatis evened the score again in the seventh inning, smashing his third home run of the year — a leadoff shot off Carlos Carrasco that rocketed an estimated 410 feet to center field.
That home run erased what would have been a win for Ritchie. The rookie right-hander exited after five innings, having surrendered five hits and five runs, four of which were earned. He also walked four batters while striking out seven.
