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San Diego Padres star third baseman Manny Machado recorded his 2,000th career hit in the team’s 6-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Petco Park.
Machado, 33, had three hits in the loss. His first, and the 1,999th of Machado’s career, came in the first inning when he laced a line drive to left field off Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher Zac Gallen.
The six-time All-Star didn’t waste any time getting his 2,000th hit. In his next at-bat, Machado ripped a hanging breaking ball off the glove of Diamondbacks’ shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to become the 297th player in MLB history to have 2,000 hits.
Machado became the fifth active player with 2,000 hits and the 12th player in MLB history to have 350 home runs and 2,000 hits by his age-32 season.
The star infielder tipped his hat to the standing crowd while he stood on first base.
Machado’s 2,001st hit of his career came in the eighth inning, when he hammered a slider into the left field bleachers for a solo home run, his 15th home run of the season, to cut the Diamondbacks’ lead down to 6-3.
“It’s special and an honor to be a part of that list,” Machado said of being in the 2,000 hit-club. “Definitely would have wanted the victory, but stepping away from that, it’s pretty cool.”
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The two-time Silver Slugger was glad to achieve the feat in front of Padres fans.
“Doing it in front of the home crowd definitely is a lot better, and hopefully there’s more,” Machado said.
Machado made his debut with Baltimore in 2012 and got 977 hits with the Baltimore Orioles before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 18, 2018. He had 73 hits with the Dodgers before signing as a free agent with the Padres on Feb. 21, 2019.
He has 950 hits with the Padres, which ranks fifth on the franchise list. Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn had 3,141 in his 20-season career.
Machado was voted the starting third baseman for the National League All-Star team this year as he in the midst of another strong season. Machado has a .293 batting average to go along with 15 home runs and 53 RBI while he continues to shine defensively at third base.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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