Padres News: Manny Machado Praises Hitting Coaches, Holds Himself Accountable on Results
The San Diego Padres answered in a big way against the lonely Washington Nationals at home with a 13-3 win on Friday night. The win was much needed to inch closer to .500 and get that San Francisco series loss out of their mouths.
San Diego will look to continue to take advantage of Washington and get to .500 by the end of the week. The offense has exploded in their last two games scoring 23 runs on 26 hits, which has been a great thing to witness. Padres superstar Manny Machado plays a huge role in providing those runs for the Friars and does a great job in doing so.
Before Friday's matchup against the Nationals, Manny spoke to the media and was asked his thoughts on the hitting coaches. The 30-year-old star backed them up and said whatever results they get, it's on the hitters, not the coaches.
"They [hitting coaches] give us all the information we need. Ultimately, it's what we do out there. We do what we can control, which is to go out there and hit the ball. You can't put so much emphasis on it's their fault. If you're going to put any fault on anyone, it's going to be us, we hold the cards, we hold the bat, we make the outs. It's not about the managers, coaches, or pitching staff, it's about the players."
So far, both the coaches and players are doing their job, and for their sake, hopefully, they keep it up. Padre baseball has been fun to watch over the past handful of weeks, and that's due to their excellent arms, phenomenal bats, and coaching that guides them in the right direction.
In Manny's case, he's playing the best stretch of baseball of the season. He's slashing .317/.333/.556, along with 20 hits, four home runs, and 14 RBIs in his last 15 games and 63 ABs.
It's great to see Manny hold himself and his teammates accountable for this aspect of the game. He's grown so much as a leader, and it's been great to witness.