The Padres didn’t necessarily sign Manny Machado to beat the Dodgers, specifically, but they clearly must cut into Los Angeles’ massive talent edge if they’re ever going to knock their rivals off their perch atop the NL West.
The one-time Dodger put forth a good first effort on this date — May 3 — in 2019, homering in his first plate appearance against three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw in his first game against the team that acquired him from the Orioles the previous July.
“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” Machado told reporters afterward, “and I got one.