Padres News: Manny Machado Finds Himself in Unfamiliar Territory in The Lineup
The San Diego Padres failed to take their three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. The Padres fell 5-2 in which Friars' starter Seth Lugo gave up three runs in the second inning and was ultimately the difference.
The offesne didn't help out either, with the Friars only having six hits; however, their superstar Manny Machado was responsible for 33% of the hits. The 30-year-old superstar was producing like how he usually does, but he was in unfamiliar territory in the lineup.
For the first time since 2015, Manny batted below second or third in the lineup and was fifth in the lineup on Thursday.
The righty slugger told Padres insider Kevin Acee he doesn't mind where he's hitting, he's only worried about getting wins.
“We’re just trying to win,” said Machado, who homered in his first at-bat Thursday, singled his second time up and finished 2-for-4. “It doesn’t really matter. Whatever it is to get us going offensively. As hitters, as a team, as baseball players, we just kind of get into a routine of just seeing the same thing and doing the same thing every day, every single day, every single day. So changing up the lineup like that kind of just mixes things up, kind of loosens up the mojo.”
Manny led things off when he homered in the second inning and singled in his next AB to right field. It's been a tough start to the season for Machado as he's only slashing .225/.259/.324 with a .583 OPS with a -0.4 WAR.
A superstar talent like Manny shouldn't be batting as low as four, but it didn't seem to faze him. He made contact on all his pitches, and looked good at the plate.
The third baseman will look to do better in their weekend two-game series against the San Francisco Giants in Mexico City.
