Follow Us
The San Diego Padres season is off to a rocky start, at least compared to the expectations the team brought with them into the 2023 campaign. An offense full of star power, led by Manny Machado and Juan Soto, has struggled to get the ball rolling through 18 games.
The latest stumble came on Monday night when the Padres were shut out for the second straight game, both at home. This is the first time since April 2016 that San Diego’s offense has not scored in back-to-back games at Petco Park.
Machado thinks the Padres can and will turn things around. He wants people who are doubting San Diego to keep that stance throughout the season.
“Honestly, for me,” Machado said, “it’s just: Don’t jump on the bandwagon later on when we start f*****g raking and we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”
After his 0-for-4 night, Machado is 4-for-23 in his last six games. The Padres as a whole have scored three or fewer runs in six of their last eight games, coming out victorious in just two of them. San Diego has the fourth-worst team batting average in baseball.
Though Machado and Soto aren’t playing like the superstars they are known as at the moment, it is a good sign for the Padres that Xander Bogaerts is hitting the ball well. Bogaerts has a slash line of .362/.430/1.010 in his first 18 games as a Padre and has reached base in every game.
It’s only a matter of time before Manny Machado turns things around at the plate. With Fernando Tatis Jr. set to return to the lineup this week, the Padres’ offense might be putting up crooked numbers before you know it.