A day after rediscovering his power stroke, Manny Machado will get a day off his feet as he’ll serve as the designated hitter on Wednesday as the Padres seek a series win over the Mets.
First pitch is at 10:10 a.m. on Padres.TV.
Good morning ☀️ pic.twitter.com/rskCYY8Arm
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 19, 2026
Machado’s ninth-inning insurance home run on Tuesday was his first since July 26 in Miami. He was hitting .224/.302/.250 with two doubles in 20 since then.
August has been a slog for Machado, as he followed up the best month of the season (.922 OPS, 7 HRs in July) by hitting .234/.329/.297 in 17 games so far in August.
Wednesday is his 15th day as a DH, already one more than all of 2025. Machado appeared 84 games as a DH from 2023 to 2024 as he managed tennis elbow and recovery from the surgery that repaired the ailment between those seasons.
Machado will hit third, behind second baseman Jake Cronenworth (.613 OPS), who is hitting .278/.337/.367 with three homers in 43 games since returning from his concussion.
With Machado at DH, Sung-Mun Song (.583 OPS) will man third base and bat ninth.
Luis Rengifo (.650 OPS) will get the start in left field and Luis Campusano (.909 OPS) will start behind the plate.
Tuesday’s win upped the Padres’ lead on the Diamondbacks to two games in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot. The Padres (68-59) remain a game behind the Phillies, the current No. 2 wild-card team from the NL.
The Padres’ playoff odds are up to 62% as calculated by Fangraphs.com. They were at just over 7% when they began this
Here is how the Mets (57-70) will line up for the series finale:
Series finale ⚾️@RumsofPR | #LGM pic.twitter.com/9Jk8LZd6Z1
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 19, 2026
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Michael King (8-8, 3.41 ERA)
He’s gone at least six innings in six of his last eight starts (3.13 ERA), but the Padres have won only four of those games. King lost his June start against the Mets at Petco Park (6 IP, 4 ER) and he’s a got a 3.65 ERA in 12 road starts this season.
Here is how King has fared against current Mets:
Mets RHP Robert Stock (0-2, 6.57 ERA)
The former Padres reliever, now 36, is making his fourth start with the Mets. He has a 13-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.87 WHIP through 12⅓ innings. Stock has not faced the Padres since debuting with the team in 2018 and throwing 50⅓ innings out of their bullpen through 2019. Stock is currently sitting 96 mph with his four-seamer and featuring a 92 mph cutter (29.9%). Kevin Acee caught up with Stock in this story.
Among current Padres, only Manny Machado (0-for-2), has history with Stock.