Machado injured as Padres swept in Colorado
Jun 19, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (C) is helped off the field by interim manager Ryan Flaherty (L) and head athletic trainer Mark Rogow (R) after a play at first base in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Just three days ago, the San Diego Padres were coming off of their most exciting stretch of the season, a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. They were off to the best start in franchise history at 41-24 and had caught up to the Dodgers in the NL West standings.
Fast forward to today, and the feeling around Padres’ team is completely different following an 8-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies which closes out a series that saw the Padres get swept by their pesky division rival. The loss is also the 10th straight loss in Colorado for San Diego.
While getting swept is not a disaster by any means (the Padres are still a very impressive 41-27), there are concerns that have surfaced on and off the field that San Diego will need to fight through in order to keep playing at the same level they have been to start the season.
The most concerning issue the Padres will need to overcome is Manny Machado‘s ankle sprain, which occurred during the first inning of Sunday’s game when Machado landed awkwardly on first base after trying to beat out a dribbler in front of home plate.
X-rays were taken right away and Machado was diagnosed with just a sprain, but it is unclear how severe the sprain is and there is no timetable on when he might be able to return.
Update from the clubhouse: Manny Machado exited today’s game with a left ankle sprain. X-rays were negative.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 19, 2022
Losing Machado is a major blow to San Diego not only because of the tremendous season he has been having thus far in 2022, but also because the Padres’ other superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr., seems to be progressing from his offseason wrist injury slower than anticipated.
Without Tatis and Machado for any significant stretch is a tall task for a Padres’ offense that has underwhelmed often this season.
Sunday also saw Blake Snell continue to struggle, going only 4.2 innings and allowing four earned runs while walking four. Though he did have five strikeouts, Snell continues to throw a lot of pitches to get through his outings and now sits at 0-4 on the season with a 5.46 ERA.
The three Padres’ runs came on home runs by Luke Voit (9) and Austin Nola (2), but they didn’t much matter as the Rockies’ offense continued it’s dominance of Padre pitching. Colorado finished the series with 23 runs in the three games.
Luke Voit just destroyed a baseball three quarters of the way up the bleachers. pic.twitter.com/hiqFy6esx7
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 19, 2022
The Padres will look to right the ship on Monday as they return home to face the Diamondbacks with Yu Darvish on the mound.
With Machado presumably out for a while, Joe Musgrove on the Covid IL, and offensive inconsistency rearing its head again, it is undoubtedly a pivotal stretch for the San Diego Padres.
Kevin is a San Diego Native covering the San Diego Padres and their affiliates
They did the best they could against a mighty Rockies team.