Machado's clutch blast snaps Padres' 8-game skid

LOS ANGELES -- Moments after the Padres had snapped their eight-game losing streak on Sunday evening, Manny Machado stood at his locker and took a moment to reflect on it.

“It’s baseball, man,” Machado said. “... It’s a beautiful game. And we’re all stupid to be playing it.”

Such are the ups and downs of a baseball season -- this season in particular for these San Diego Padres. Here are some takeaways from Dodger Stadium, where the Padres finally got into the win column with a 5-2 victory:

The Padres needed this ... badly

It’s been tense around here lately. Couldn’t you tell?

Not even one full batter into Sunday’s game, Padres manager Craig Stammen and infield coach Ryan Goins were tossed for arguing a check-swing call. (Well, Goins was tossed for arguing. Then, when Stammen subsequently came out to argue that, he got run as well.)

This was the Padres’ longest losing streak in 13 years. They’d lost all manner of games -- from blowouts to blown leads. They’d lost the first three games of the series against their archrivals. It needed to end on Sunday night.

It did end.

“This was a tough stretch for us,” Machado said. “We put ourselves in a bad situation. But … there’s still a lot of baseball to be played, and I think the best is still in front of us.”

Ultimately, Machado’s three-run homer in the seventh inning was the difference. The San Diego bullpen looked shaky at times. But it did enough to nail down the victory.

The Padres remain below .500 after their losing streak, still very much on the outside of the playoff picture. But they could exhale at least -- with a crucial homestand before the All-Star break still to come.

“You just have to win after the losing streak,” Stammen said. “Whenever that win happens, it’s a big win. And it allows us to take a breath, and then get back after it. Going back home is also a helpful thing -- and being able to start that homestand with a good feeling is a positive for our team.”

Manny’s homer was a big one -- and a 'lucky' one?

The Padres led 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning when Machado came to the plate with two men aboard. He took the first two pitches, falling behind 0-2, then got a middle-middle fastball from Dodgers right-hander Kyle Hurt.

Machado launched it to straightaway center field for his 18th home run of the season. But by his own telling, he couldn’t see the pitch.

“Crazy thing about that at-bat was, I couldn’t really see the ball,” Machado said. “The shadows were tough. Those last three or four innings -- it was a tough at-bat for everyone up there, not just myself.

“I missed the first two -- couldn’t really pull the trigger on it. And then the last one, I was just like: ‘All right, I’m just going to swing at whatever comes my way.’ That was a lucky one.”

After so many of the little things went against the Padres during their eight-game losing streak … they’ll take it.

What an effort from JP Sears

The way it’s gone lately, amidst this current stretch of 17 games in 17 days for the Padres, they desperately needed a strong performance from JP Sears.

They got it. Sears was excellent, allowing just one hit across five scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out five.

“It was a great team effort today,” Sears said. “I felt really good out there, felt like we had a good gameplan. I just went out there and really wanted to attack the zone. Knew that was a great team that was going to swing the bat a little bit. Tried to take advantage of that.”

Afterward, Stammen acknowledged that the Padres weren’t exactly planning for five innings from Sears. He’s only made two starts this season and struggled in his last one. If he was on shaky ground, he’d have gotten a much quicker hook. There was always the possibility of a Sears/Germán Márquez piggyback.

“We had definitely mapped out the pitching in a strategic way,” Stammen said. “And he probably went a little further than we imagined. But he was just pitching so good. … We also had it in our heads: ‘If he’s rolling, we’re going to let him roll.’”

Sears has now made three starts since his promotion -- two of them excellent, one a dud at Wrigley Field in his last time out. The Padres are looking for reliable arms in their rotation. Perhaps Sears can be one of them.