ST. LOUIS (AP) — Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs, rookie Jackson Merrill also had three RBIs and the San Diego Padres defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Monday night.
Rookie starter Randy Vásquez (4-6) went six innings for the win, allowing two runs and six hits.
Machado hit a two-run homer in the first and an RBI double in the fifth. He also scored three times.
Merrill, who launched a game-ending homer Sunday against the New York Mets, delivered a two-run single in the third and an RBI single in the fifth.
The Padres are 25-8 since July 20, a .758 winning percentage. That ties them with Arizona for the best record in the majors during that span. San Diego is a game behind the Diamondbacks for the top National League wild card.
Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson each had three hits for St. Louis.
Kyle Gibson (7-6) gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.
Machado slammed a cutter 420 feet to center field with two outs in the first, after Jake Cronenworth was hit by a pitch.
Merrill’s bases-loaded single with two outs in the third put the Padres up 4-1.
San Diego chased Gibson in the fifth and scored three more runs for a 7-2 lead. Machado doubled home Jurickson Profar, who led off with a walk and advanced on a single by Cronenworth. A sacrifice fly by Xander Bogaerts scored Cronenworth and brought in reliever Matthew Liberatore. Merrill singled home the final run of the inning.
St. Louis cut its deficit to 2-1 on an RBI single by Paul Goldschmidt in the second.
The Cardinals added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Matt Carpenter. Burleson drove in runs on a ground-rule double in the seventh and a single in the ninth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (right thigh stress reaction) headed to the club’s spring training complex in Arizona, where he is expected to begin facing pitchers soon.
Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz (lower back impingement) is scheduled to start Tuesday for Triple-A Memphis at Iowa. He will be on a 65-pitch limit. … CF Michael Siani (oblique strain) also will begin his rehab assignment with Memphis in Iowa. He will be limited to five innings in the field. … RHP Lance Lynn (right knee strain) threw about 70 pitches before the game. He likely will make a rehab start for Memphis this weekend.
UP NEXT
Padres: RHP Dylan Cease (12-10, 3.43 ERA) threw 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Mets last time out.
Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (8-10, 5.19) pitched six shutout innings in his most recent outing against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
