Another day at the office for Manny Machado, another home run, although this one was special. What seemed like just another home run in his career with the San Diego Padres turned

The Padres traded for Mason Miller because he can throw 103 mph with a wipeout slider. A bonus: Evidently, he can pick it at first base, too. In the biggest moment of the Padres’ biggest game yet this season,

Padres grind out close win; reins are still on Yu Darvish; Ryan O’Hearn and Gavin Sheets continue to perform against left-handed pitching

Before he went to the plate for his at-bat in the third inning, Machado had a discussion with veteran starting pitcher Yu Darvish. After the 8-1 win, Machado revealed his conversation with the Japanese star who might have helped the third baseman dig deep.

Yu Darvish threw six dominant innings as the San Diego Padres took Game 1 of their crucial three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 on Frida

The advice from Darvish worked, based on Machado's solo shot to make it 3-0, and notch his first home run since July 29th. He went 18 games without a home run, and slugged just .293 during that stretch with a .603 OPS.

The San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers clashed for a crucial National League West series with the series opener hosted at Petco Park on Friday.

It's a shame the Dodgers and Padres won't end the regular season against one another because the NL West title could still be in play 31 games from now.