ST. LOUIS — In April, a few weeks before he played defense for the first time this season, Manny Machado said he did not expect his surgically repaired elbow to be close to 100 percent until 2025.
On Monday, after supplying a defensive gem, swatting his 159th career home run for the San Diego Padres and starting his 11th game in 11 days, he reiterated the point.
“Next year definitely will be better, for sure,” Machado said. “I still feel it. There’s days that I’m grinding a little bit, especially with (how) this has been a tough stretch for us. I’ve been out there every day, playing third base, throwing every day, hitting every day. Being able to do what I really want to do offensively puts a little bit more stress on that elbow. And it’s not completely healed. So it’s there, but it’s definitely better than it was months ago.”
On Tuesday, almost 11 months removed from an operation to repair a right extensor tendon, Machado reinforced the idea that he is gradually returning to full strength.
In addition to making a pair of standout defensive plays, the veteran third baseman homered in back-to-back games for the first time in 13 months. His second-inning leadoff shot ended a nine-pitch at-bat, halved an early deficit, sparked a four-run rally and continued what is now a full month of reassuring production.
This is your scheduled Manny Mash tweet. pic.twitter.com/eO8aoQtngf
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 28, 2024
In 27 appearances since July 27, Machado is hitting .321 with eight home runs, eight doubles and 25 RBIs. The Padres over the same stretch are 20-8, having improved to 76-58 after Tuesday night’s 7-5 comeback win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. For the first time in a season that has taken off since the All-Star break, San Diego is 18 games above .500.
And Machado, after the worst two-month start of his career, is hitting .272 with a .785 OPS. His next home run will be his 23rd of the season and his 161st as a Padre, which would tie him with Adrián González for the second most in franchise history. Nate Colbert (163 home runs for San Diego) is not far ahead, either.
“He’s been the guy that’s been able to come back and play through some things,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “We’re obviously not going to compromise him, but he’s played and got back on the field for us and done a tremendous job at third, taken amazing at-bats. His base running has been phenomenal. … He’s been everything we want him to be.”
The Padres have thrived this season, particularly since the All-Star break, because of various contributions — some more surprising than others. Jurickson Profar might be the National League Comeback Player of the Year. Jackson Merrill might be the favorite for National League Rookie of the Year. Luis Arraez is having a down season by his standards, but the newcomer has embodied the approach behind what might be the league’s most resilient offense.
But, to reach their ceiling in October, the Padres undoubtedly need Machado at something approaching — if not replicating — peak form. Monday and Tuesday, then, brought his most promising two-game stretch of the season. Never mind that Machado finished Tuesday 1-for-4 with a pair of well-struck outs.
“I just keep lining out,” Machado said. “I wish I could have had a few more. I just keep hitting the ball too hard, I guess.”
He added: “My body’s just feeling better, man. Every day just continues to get better. I guess I like the heat. I’m used to the heat a little bit.”
Tuesday indeed brought sweltering conditions. It was 98 degrees and humid when St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas threw his first pitch. Padres counterpart Dylan Cease sweated profusely through a subpar outing. Yet Shildt, a former Cardinals manager in his return to Busch Stadium, continued to oversee a resilient group.
The Padres extracted 36 pitches from Mikolas in their four-run second inning. The Cardinals fought back with a three-run fifth to retake the lead. The Padres responded in the seventh with a one-out walk from Mason McCoy, a single from Arraez, a double steal, a sacrifice fly and a go-ahead RBI single from Jake Cronenworth. Like Machado in the second, Cronenworth saw nine pitches.
San Diego also received some good fortune. In the bottom of the fifth, Machado charged a slow bouncer, watched the ball carom off the heel of his glove and deftly snagged it with his other hand and fired to first base for an out.
“Pure luck,” Machado said. “Even the (third-base umpire) told me the same thing. … He goes: ‘Don’t be lying. That was half luck, right?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you damn right it was.’”
Later, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Machado demonstrated a combination of poise and skill. Nolan Arenado sent a two-hopper directly to third base, where the ball skipped off the bag and into Machado’s glove as his momentum carried him into foul territory. The ensuing one-hop throw to first base showcased a sense of impeccable timing, one potential Hall of Fame third baseman throwing out another.
If there’s anyone who can make this play, it’s Manny Machado 😌 pic.twitter.com/cFZ4gLKLD3
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 28, 2024
For the Padres, it was another familiar moment in what has become a full month of familiar moments.
“When you have cornerstone guys you can build around and be a pillar for you like Manny is in every part of the game, then you’ve got something really, really good to build on,” Shildt said.
(Photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)