With Manny Machado heating up, Padres tackle Rays

Manny Machado is heating up as August comes to a close.

The San Diego slugger will aim to stay hot on Saturday as the Padres chase a series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Machado had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs as the Padres posted a 13-5 win in the opener of the three-game series on Friday.

The six-time All-Star has belted 161 homers with San Diego, tying him with Adrian Gonzalez for second in franchise history and putting him two in back of Nate Colbert for the all-time lead.

“That’s huge,” Machado said. “… To be on that list in such a short period of time is awesome. To be on that same level is an honor for sure.”

Machado is batting .382 (13-for-34) with three homers, 10 RBIs and six runs in his past eight games. The Padres have won five of those contests to remain in the mix for the National League’s top wild-card spot.

Rookie Jackson Merrill continues to come through while batting sixth in the San Diego lineup. He had two hits, including an RBI single, on Friday, giving him a .333 average (19-for-57) over his past 15 games.

“One reason it works is because we have five good hitters ahead of him,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “… Those guys have been in this league and done this for multiple seasons. (Merrill) is in a good spot. He’s producing. As simple as that.”

San Diego’s Randy Vasquez (4-6, 4.52 ERA) will get the start on Saturday against Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz (1-2, 3.48) in a battle of right-handers.

Vasquez recorded his first win in over a month on Monday after allowing two runs on six hits in six innings of a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be Vasquez’s first career outing against the Rays.

Baz will return to the mound after being scratched from his previously scheduled start on Sunday due to the flu. He reportedly was unable to leave his hotel room in Los Angeles but recovered enough to return home on Monday.

After one bullpen session, Baz said he’s “100 percent good to go” for the Saturday game.

Baz pitched well in his last outing on Aug. 20, scattering three hits over 7 2/3 innings in a 1-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Baz has yet to face the Padres in his career.

Tampa Bay lost for the sixth time in eight games on Friday and also saw Yandy Diaz depart in the fourth inning due to left patellar tendinitis.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Diaz “tweaked his knee a little bit” while attempting to race from first to third base on an error in the first inning. Cash added that Diaz is day-to-day and is unlikely to play on Saturday.

Diaz was replaced by Jonathan Aranda, who had been recalled from Triple-A Durham prior to the game. Aranda went 0-for-2 with an RBI.

“We would like to see (Aranda) do some good things, because we were so high on him coming in,” Cash said. “And then between the finger injury, the oblique injury, just a lot of inconsistencies. But nice to have him back.”

–Field Level Media