Machado passes González for Petco Park HR lead in sweep of Angels

July 6th, 2023

SAN DIEGO -- Step aside Adrián González. is Petco Park’s home run king.

Machado’s go-ahead blast in the sixth inning of the Padres' 5-3 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night moved him into sole possession of first place on the home run leaderboard at the downtown San Diego ballpark, which opened in 2004.

It was Machado’s 66th home run at Petco Park, passing the mark set by González, who launched 57 of those as a Padre from 2006-10, then eight more in the following seasons with the Dodgers.

González and Machado tell a story of two distinctly different eras of San Diego baseball. The Padres couldn’t extend González and ended up trading him to Boston before the 2011 season. A dozen years later, with Machado a year away from a player option that would’ve taken him to free agency, the Padres extended him for 11 years and $350 million.

“I’ve hit 66,” Machado said. “That means you've been swinging the bat pretty well and making good contact. So, hopefully, I continue doing that for a long time.”

Wil Myers sits a close third on that list with 64 homers. Hunter Renfroe, who homered for the Angels at Petco Park this week, is in fourth place with 46 -- likely to be surpassed imminently by Fernando Tatis Jr., in fifth with 44.