Padres News: Friars Make Big Lineup Changes Ahead of Must-Win Game

They cannot afford to lose this series.

The San Diego Padres watched their comeback fall short against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday and decided that the lineup they were rolling with would not cut it.

Manny Machado will not suit up once again as he rests his hand after a wild pitch on Monday and that means he will be granted three straight days of rest before SD's series against the Boston Red Sox.

#MannyMachado @Padres hit by pitch and leaves game after initially staying in. Based on location/mechanism/force, would expect X-rays to be negative. Worry for swelling on bottom hand which is important for grip. Could have short term abscence but hope to avoid an IL stint. pic.twitter.com/kwaxlA9AiX

— David J. Chao - ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) May 16, 2023

However, yesterday we saw some big changes in the batting order as Xander Bogaerts was placed in the cleanup spot and Juan Soto was moved to bat number three in place of the injured Machado.

It wasn't really a recipe for success as we saw early in the game and now Bob Melvin has opted to place Soto back in cleanup, where he has excelled in the past couple of weeks, and Fernando Tatis Jr. will now be at the number three slot.

Series finale up next. #BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/cUR7X9xXjO

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 17, 2023

This will be the first time all season that we see Tatis going number three as he has mainly been used as a leadoff hitter.

I'm very amped to see if he's able to record some more RBI's with Bogaerts looking to get back his firepower and Jake Cronenworth producing some base hits as well.

We'll see all of you guys at 1:10 pm PT.