MILWAUKEE — Manny Machado came up clutch again, hitting a seventh-inning solo shot to propel the Padres to a 1-0 victory over the Brewers on Sunday morning.
It was a pitchers’ duel between starters Ryan Bergert (1-0, 1.26 ERA) and Freddy Peralta (5-4, 2.69 ERA), with neither side allowing a hit until the fifth inning.
Bergert continues to be reliable in the absence of pitchers Michael King, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. The rookie changed speeds effectively, worked all four quadrants of the zone and attacked Milwaukee hitters all day.
Bergert finished his outing allowing one hit and zero runs with four strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings pitched.
Machado (.318 BA, .897 OPS) finally broke the scoreless tie in the seventh, crushing a low-and-in fastball for his tenth home run of the season. Machado worked a six-pitch at-bat, finally getting the pitch he wanted and capitalized.
“I just took advantage and I’m grateful for that,” said Machado.
San Diego’ bullpen was lights out as usual, combining for zero runs, three hits and five strikeouts in 3 ⅔ innings pitched. The Padres pitching staff continues to be stubborn with runners on, leading to the Brewers going 0-7 with runners in scoring position and leaving ten on base.
“Our bullpen has been lights out,” said Machado. “Our starters have been picking up the slack and it’s fun to play behind them.”
Closer Robert Suarez (1.84 ERA) recorded his 21st save of the season, despite Milwaukee refusing to go down without a fight in the ninth. It wasn’t enough as the Friars held on to take the series win with a final score of 1-0.
The Padres look to ride this momentum into their next series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (39-27) for their first meeting since their NLDS postseason loss. San Diego hosts their NL West rival on Monday at 6:40 p.m.