SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado drove in three runs against Justin Verlander and the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 8-4 on Thursday in a sloppy game.
The Padres took three of four from the Giants and have won three straight going into a second straight weekend showdown against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles swept the Padres last weekend at Dodger Stadium and comes in with a one-game lead in the NL West.
San Francisco’s Rafael Devers hit a 435-foot home run off Dylan Cease (6-11) leading off the sixth and Willy Adames followed with a 400-footer, also to right-center.
The Giants took a 2-0 lead after the Padres misplayed three straight balls to open the third, the first two by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis called for Luis Matos’ flyball as he and center fielder Ramón Laureano converged, but he pulled up and it fell in for a triple. Tatis, who made a spectacular leaping catch to rob Devers of a homer on Wednesday night, then misjudged Andrew Knizner’s fly ball that fell in for an RBI double. Jung Hoo Lee reached on second baseman Jake Cronenworth’s fielding error and Knizner scored on a double play.
San Diego tied it in the fourth on Machado’s RBI single and Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly. The Padres scored six in the fifth, the first two coming when the Giants committed two errors on Freddy Fermin’s bunt single. Machado’s two-run double chased Verlander (1-10) and Bogaerts and Laureano each had an RBI base hit.
Cease allowed four runs and six hits in five innings, struck out seven and walked two.
Verlander allowed seven runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Key moment
Machado’s two-run double gave the Padres a comfortable lead.
Key stat
It was Machado’s 104th career game of three or more RBIs.
Up next
Giants LHP Carson Whisenhunt (1-1, 5.02 ERA) starts Friday night at Milwaukee. Padres RHP Yu Darvish (2-3, 5.97) starts Friday night against the Dodgers.
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