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One mistake is all it takes to flip a game, and potentially a series.
That’s what occurred Wednesday when lefty Shota Imanaga’s splitter hovered too far over the middle of the strike zone against Manny Machado with the Padres nursing a one-run lead. Machado, who had been booed by Cubs fans before every at-bat, gave them a reason to jeer.
Machado hit a two-out, two-run homer to extend the Padres’ lead to three. It was the knockout blow in Wednesday’s 3-0 Game 2 win that tied the wild-card series at 1-1.
Machado hadn’t had much success previously against Imanaga, batting 1-for-9 with six strikeouts before Wednesday’s game.