SAN DIEGO (AP) The San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado recorded his 2,000th career hit on Monday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he blasted a hard single off diving shortstop Geraldo Perdomo’s glove.
Leading off the fourth inning, against starter Zac Gallen, the milestone hit was recorded. The crowd at Petco Park, where Machado has been a fan favorite since joining the Padres in 2019, gave him a standing ovation.
After San Diego’s 6-3 loss, Machado stated, “It’s definitely much better to do it in front of the home crowd, and hopefully there’s more.”
In the first inning, the All-Star slugger recorded his 1,999th hit by singletoning to left field. Leading off the eighth, Machado smashed his third home run of the evening against Kyle Backhus, his 15th of the season and 357th of his career.
Machado became the 297th player in history and the sixth active player to accomplish the feat. In his age-32 season, he became the 12th player to reach 2,000 hits and 350 home runs.
Being on that list is unique and an honor, Machado remarked. I certainly would have preferred the win, but putting that aside, it’s actually pretty awesome.
He stood on first base and tipped his batting helmet to the crowd.
Hats off, literally. “What an accomplishment,” exclaimed Mike Shildt, manager of the Padres. We are pleased with it. He merited it.
Before being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 18, 2018, Machado made his Orioles debut in 2012 and had 977 hits. Before joining the Padres as a free agent on February 21, 2019, he had 73 hits with the Dodgers.
San Diego is fifth on the franchise chart with 950 hits under his belt. Tony Gwynn, a Hall of Famer, had 3,141 throughout his 20-season career.
This year, Machado was selected as the National League All-Star team’s starting third baseman.
