Padres' bats go silent in 3-1 loss to Diamondbacks

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — San Diego’s offense went from one extreme to the other in a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks (46-47) on Thursday night.

The Padres (46-47) had the perfect opportunity to win their first series since sweeping the Atlanta Braves on June 24th.

Instead, they managed just three hits, two from Manny Machado and one from Fernando Tatis Jr. The duo combined to go 3-for-7, with Machado providing the Padres’ lone run on a home run. The rest of the team went 0-for-20.

The offensive struggles came one night after San Diego collected 13 hits, scored 10 runs, and had every starter except one record a hit.

Much of that was due to Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, who allowed three hits and three walks while striking out six while also improving to 10-6 in his career against the Padres.

“I think Merrill Kelly got us again,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He’s kind of just had his way with us ever since he’s got to Arizona from what I remember.”

Unlike the previous three games, the scoring didn’t come early. It wasn’t until the bottom of the second inning that Machado jumped on Kelly’s first pitch and launched it into right field for his 19th home run of the season, his most before the All-Star break since 2019.

“(Kelly) threw the ball well,” Machado said. “We have three hits, so didn’t really make many mistakes. He made one with me, the second hit I got was was a pretty good pitch by him, so he didn’t really make many mistakes today.”

Machado returned to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s game. Stammen gave him the night off to recover after fouling a ball off his foot Tuesday night, and Machado also underwent a root canal on Wednesday. His solo home run gave San Diego a 1-0 lead.

“Taking consistent at bats,” Machado said on his recent improvement in production. “Obviously I put myself in a hole early in the year, so just trying to crawl up that roller coaster, and just keep going up.”

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Jul 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado (13) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park.

Machado now has 63 hits this season, with 19 of them leaving the yard. While the numbers may seem unusual, his combination of a .193 batting average and 19 home runs has certainly been unique.

“Typically when he’s hitting home runs, he’s got a high average too,” Stammen said. “That’s what we’ve seen from him in the past…We’re just waiting for that average to tick up, and it looks over the course of the last couple weeks it’s trending upward.”

Padres starter Griffin Canning turned in a solid outing, pitching 4.2 innings while allowing seven hits, two earned runs, and striking out five.

In the top of the 4th inning, when Corbin Carroll singled and tried to stretch it into a double but was thrown out at second base. Gabriel Moreno then struck out, leaving the Diamondbacks with two outs. Max Kepler and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with back-to-back singles, putting Kepler on third. A wild pitch by Canning allowed Kepler to score, tying the game at 1-1.

An inning later, Tommy Troy opened the fifth with a single to left field. Canning retired Tim Tawa on a sacrifice bunt and got Ketel Marte to fly out, putting him one out away from escaping the inning. Instead, Geraldo Perdomo singled to center field, allowing Troy to score and giving Arizona a 2-1 lead.

“Canning was throwing the ball well enough that I felt like he had the opportunity to get through five innings and qualify himself for a win there,” Stammen said. “Ground ball up the middle kind of ended his night, but he pitched excellent.”

Yuki Matsui replaced Canning and retired Kepler and Gurriel on lineouts to begin the sixth inning. Then Arizona added an insurance run when Nolan Arenado hit a splitter 387 feet the opposite way for a solo home run, extending the lead to 3-1.

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Jul 9, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) walks back to the dugout after striking out during the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park.

The Padres did not record another hit after Machado’s single in the fourth inning, a troubling sign for a team trying to climb back into the National League Wild Card race. As it stands, San Diego sits 5½ games out of a playoff spot.

“We believe that at any point we could go on an 8 game winning streak,” Stammen said. “We do that, and we’re right back in the hunt, and we’re right where we need to be. We have less games to do that than we did coming into this home stand, but I’m going to believe, and I’m going to push these guys, and these guys are going to push each other.”

The Padres open a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday at 6:40 p.m. PT. Shane Bieber (0-1) is scheduled to start for Toronto, while J.P. Sears (2-1) will take the mound for San Diego.