Machado and Merrill both drive in 3 runs as Padres top Cardinals 7-4

ST. LOUIS (AP) Manny Machado homered and drove in three runs, rookie Jackson Merrill also had three RBIs and the San Diego Padres defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.

“We have fun every day,” Merrill said. “We play hard. If you win you win, if you lose, you lose. We're not going to look back on the previous day. We're here to win games.”

Rookie starter Randy Vásquez (4-6) went six innings for the victory, allowing two runs and six hits.

“Whenever I'm needed, I pitch,” Vásquez said through a translator. “I've been eating innings, so that's good. The results have been coming my way. Everything is pretty good.”

Machado hit a two-run homer in the first, his 21st this season, and an RBI double in the fifth. He also scored three times.

“What a nice evening for Manny. He had a big swing in the first to get us on the board,” said Padres skipper Mike Shildt, who managed his first game in St. Louis since being fired by the Cardinals after the 2021 season.

Merrill, who launched a game-ending homer Sunday against the New York Mets, delivered a two-run single in the third and an RBI single in the fifth. He has 28 RBIs since the All-Star break.

The Padres are 25-8 since July 20, a .758 winning percentage. That ties them with Arizona for the best record in the majors during that span. San Diego is a game behind the Diamondbacks for the top National League wild card.

The Padres had won just one of their previous 10 games in St. Louis.

“They took advantage of their opportunities,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “They bunched together hits with walks and scored seven.”

Brendan Donovan, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson each had three hits for St. Louis.

Kyle Gibson (7-6) gave up seven runs on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings.

“They have a good hitting team,” Gibson said. “Command was definitely an issue. They did a good job putting the bat on the ball.”

Machado slammed a cutter 420 feet to center field with two outs in the first, after Jake Cronenworth was hit by a pitch.

Merrill's bases-loaded single with two outs in the third put the Padres up 4-1. It was the rookie's fourth bases-loaded hit this year, tying a San Diego record for players in their first season.

San Diego chased Gibson in the fifth and scored three more runs for a 7-2 lead. Machado doubled home Jurickson Profar, who led off with a walk and advanced on a single by Cronenworth. A sacrifice fly by Xander Bogaerts scored Cronenworth and brought in reliever Matthew Liberatore. Merrill singled home the final run of the inning.

“Add-on runs are huge,” Shildt said. “Jackson had a big knock off the lefty there for an RBI.”

St. Louis cut its deficit to 2-1 on an RBI single by Paul Goldschmidt in the second.

The Cardinals added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Matt Carpenter. Burleson drove in runs on a ground-rule double in the seventh and a single in the ninth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (right thigh stress reaction) headed to the club's spring training complex in Arizona, where he is expected to begin facing pitchers soon.

Cardinals: LHP Steven Matz (lower back impingement) is scheduled to start Tuesday for Triple-A Memphis at Iowa. He will be on a 65-pitch limit. ... CF Michael Siani (oblique strain) also will begin his rehab assignment with Memphis in Iowa. He will be limited to five innings in the field. … RHP Lance Lynn (right knee strain) threw about 70 pitches before the game. He likely will make a rehab start for Memphis this weekend.

UP NEXT

Padres: RHP Dylan Cease (12-10, 3.43 ERA) threw 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Mets last time out.

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (8-10, 5.19) pitched six shutout innings in his most recent outing against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb