Padres snap their 8-game skid with 5-2 win over Dodgers on Manny Machado’s 3-run homer

By: Greg Beacham, The Associated Press Posted: 9:46 PM CDT Sunday, Jul. 5, 2026

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Machado hit a three-run homer, Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. added RBI singles, and the San Diego Padres snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

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JP Sears (2-1) threw five scoreless innings of one-hit ball as the Padres ended their longest skid since 2013 and avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the back-to-back World Series champions with their first victory since June 26. The win was San Diego’s second in its last 13 games at Dodger Stadium.

Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani had an RBI single on his 32nd birthday for the MLB-leading Dodgers, who lost for only the second time in nine games.

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, right, is congratulated by Jackson Merrill after hitting a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Dodgers catcher Eliézer Alfonzo made his major league debut in extraordinary circumstances, playing the first six innings after Latin American media reports earlier Sunday indicated his sister and stepmother had been confirmed as victims of Venezuela’s earthquakes last month.

Padres manager Craig Stammen and infield coach Ryan Goins were ejected by plate umpire Nick Mahrley only three pitches into the game. Goins was yelling from the dugout when Mahrley tossed him, and Stammen got the boot after subsequently coming onto the field to argue.

Miguel Rojas’ two-out single in the fifth was the Dodgers’ only hit off Sears, who struck out five in his third start this season.

Emmet Sheehan (4-6) couldn’t get out of the fifth for the Dodgers, but yielded only one run on three hits.

Sung-mun Song drew a walk and scored on Tatis’ infield single before Machado’s 407-foot shot to center off Kyle Hurt. The homer was the 18th for Machado, who is nonetheless batting .189.

Alex Freeland and Ohtani singled in the Dodgers’ first runs later in the seventh.

Mason Miller pitched the ninth for his 22nd save and first since June 22, thanks to the Padres’ slump.

Up next

Eric Lauer (4-5, 4.84 ERA) looks to stay unbeaten since joining the Dodgers’ rotation in May when they open a home series with the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Walker Buehler (5-4, 4.61 ERA) takes the mound at Petco Park on Monday night when the Padres open a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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