The pitching matchup lived up to its billing. Fortunately for the Padres Manny Machado had seen enough.
Machado turned on the first pitch he saw from Astros starter Framber Valdez, rocketing a 94 mile per hour sinker into the left field seats. Most importantly it ended a stalemate between the teams, putting the Padres ahead 1-0.
They weren't done.
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Fernando Tatis Jr. started the bottom of the eighth with a 397-foot shot off Kaleb Ort. It was his 19th of the season and fifth of the last eight games.
Machado greeted Tatis after he rounded the bases, then stepped up and belted his second of the game. This time on a pitch low in the zone, with Machado scooping it over the fence in left. The two-homer game bumped his season total to 29, to go with 104 RBIs.
Donovan Solano kept it going, lifting his seventh of the season just past the reach of Houston left fielder Yordan Alvarez.
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The Padres went back-to-back-to-back to break open what was a pitchers' duel, and come away with a 4-0 win to take the series.
Dylan Cease and Framber Valdez dueled for most of the afternoon. Cease retired the first 15 batters he faced. Jason Heyward singled to start the sixth, ending Cease's bid for his second no-hitter of the season or first perfect game.
Cease's efficiency allowed him to pitch into the ninth. Heyward was the only baserunner allowed by Cease through eight innings. Mauricio Dubon led off with a single. After recording his fifth and final strikeout of the game Jose Altuve got aboard thanks to an error by Xander Bogaerts. Cease came out after throwing 103 pitches, and going 8.1 scoreless.
Tanner Scott got the final two outs.
Valdez wasn't quite as stingy, but managed to keep the home team off the scoreboard. After giving up a double to Xander Bogaerts and a single to Jackson Merrill in the second, Valdez got Jake Cronenworth to ground into an inning-ending double play. The Padres then got runners to second and third one inning later, but Valdez retired Tatis and Machado to end the threat.
Machado broke the seal in the sixth with his leadoff blast.
Valdez went seven innings, allowing five hits and two walks with six strikeouts. The one-run outing dropped his ERA to 2.85.
