Manny Machado hit a three-run homer as the San Diego Padres snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, helped by JP Sears’ five scoreless innings and an MLB debut played under intense personal news.
Los Angeles felt like it had already moved on when Manny Machado sent the ball toward center field—then the Padres finally moved with it.
Machado hit a three-run homer, Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. added RBI singles. and San Diego snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. It was the Padres’ first win since June 26. ending their longest skid since 2013 and helping them avoid a four-game sweep by back-to-back World Series champions.
JP Sears (2-1) set the tone early, throwing five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. Miguel Rojas’ two-out single in the fifth was the Dodgers’ only hit off Sears, who struck out five in his third start of the season.
The game had its own sharp, human storyline from the start. Dodgers catcher Eliézer Alfonzo made his major league debut in extraordinary circumstances. playing the first six innings after Latin American media reports earlier Sunday indicated his sister and stepmother had been confirmed as victims of Venezuela’s earthquakes last month.
San Diego didn’t just win on the scoreboard—it also kicked up chaos around the plate. Padres manager Craig Stammen and infield coach Ryan Goins were both ejected by plate umpire Nick Mahrley only three pitches into the game. Goins was yelling from the dugout when Mahrley tossed him. and Stammen was thrown out after stepping onto the field to argue.
The Padres broke the game open as Sung-mun Song drew a walk and scored on Tatis’ infield single before Machado’s 407-foot shot off Kyle Hurt. Machado’s homer was his 18th, though he was still batting .189 at the time.
Later, Alex Freeland and Shohei Ohtani—playing for the Dodgers on his 32nd birthday—added to the early momentum with RBI singles in the seventh. Ohtani had his RBI single as Los Angeles took its first runs, even if the rest of the night never quite followed the same script.
In the fifth, Emmet Sheehan (4-6) couldn’t get out of the inning, though he limited the damage afterward. Sheehan allowed only one run on three hits.
San Diego’s late relief held steady. Mason Miller pitched the ninth for his 22nd save and first since June 22, sealing the victory after the Padres’ slump.
The result mattered not only because it ended a skid, but because it changed what the Dodgers could have claimed: San Diego’s first victory in 13 games at Dodger Stadium during the stretch, and a halt to a sweep that felt increasingly close.
Up next, the Dodgers will host the Colorado Rockies with Eric Lauer (4-5, 4.84 ERA) set to open a home series on Monday night. On the other side of the matchup, Walker Buehler (5-4, 4.61 ERA) will take the mound at Petco Park on Monday night as the Padres open a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Padres Dodgers Manny Machado JP Sears Shohei Ohtani Eliézer Alfonzo Fernando Tatis Jr. Jackson Merrill Petco Park MLB debut