The San Diego Padres are off to a red-hot start this season with baseball’s best record at 14-3. Even more impressive? They’ve been absolutely perfect at home, winning all 11 games at Petco Park.
That’s nearly historic. Only two teams have started better at home since 1900 – the 2009 Dodgers (13-0) and last year’s Rays (14-0).
The vibes in San Diego? Absolutely electric right now.
As they say, winning takes both skill and luck. The Padres got a healthy dose of both Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs.
Manny Machado made the Cubs pay for some sloppy defense in the fifth inning. Not once, but twice, the Cubs dropped what should have been easy outs on foul popups – first by right fielder Kyle Tucker, then by third baseman Gage Workman.
Given three chances in the same at-bat, Machado didn’t waste the opportunity. He crushed a solo homer to break the scoreless tie.
The nine-pitch battle did more than just put the Padres on the board. It also drove up Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga’s pitch count, helping chase him from the game.
Both Tucker and Workman were charged with errors on the plays – as they should have been.
Since those popups would have ended the inning, Imanaga wasn’t charged with an earned run. The official scorer recognized he actually got Machado out twice, only to be let down by his defense.
Machado, now 32, has been on fire to start the season. Before Tuesday’s game, he was hitting .317 with a .394 on-base percentage and .476 slugging percentage, including seven doubles and one homer.
He’s also showing surprising speed on the basepaths, going a perfect 6-for-6 on steal attempts. That’s impressive considering he’s averaged just 10 steals per 162 games throughout his career.
It’s not just Machado, either. The entire Padres team has been aggressive on the bases this season, catching opponents off guard and adding another dimension to their attack.
