A few days ago, Manny Machado sent a strong warning to the league that he still has confidence in his hitting. But that hasn’t translated on the field. With the Padres losing the 2nd game of the series, reporters wanted answers as to why he is not doing well, and Machado was not having it. After a 5-4 loss to the Dodgers, reporters demanded answers for his .182 batting average. When asked why he is struggling and what he is doing about it, Machado did not hold back.

“My offensive struggles?… Yeah, struggles, man. It’s been tough,” Machado said.

And when asked about info on why this is happening, Machado snapped. “I’m a baseball player. I’m not a theorist, so… you got something for me?”

Even though the Padres are winning games this season, the offense has become a major concern for the team. Every series seems connected to the same issue, including Manny Machado’s frustrating struggles at the plate. Machado has historically started seasons slowly, struggling through the first halves of both 2023 and 2024. But this ongoing slump is much worse.

After Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the uncomfortable questions surrounding Machado were louder than ever.

And after another difficult offensive performance, Machado admitted that things have been tough and he is not happy with it. But the question that triggered a fiery response was when he was asked about the planning. Machado directly said that he is not going to reveal anything (to the reporter). But he says that he has been working to get better at the plate.

But it looks like whatever Machado is working on is not working right now. The All-Star player is batting with an average of .182 with just seven homers. His OPS is also disappointing, .616. This shows that his impact has been very minimal.

His hard-hit percentage has dropped from 51.5% to 43.7%, showing that even when he makes contact, it is weak. He even has a -3 Statcast run value, showing that he hasn’t gotten hits when the team needs him to. But this has been the story of the whole team.

The San Diego Padres have scored an average of 4.17 runs per game and have the worst average in the league at .222. They also have the lowest hits in the league with just 349. This shows that the struggles aren’t just with the Machado but with the whole team.

And this raises major questions about the batting coach and the planning behind the scenes.

Manny Machado defends Padres’ batting coach

With the whole team slumping, the fans are not just questioning the players. But they are also questioning the coaching staff.

Multiple San Diego Padres batters entered this month with disappointing numbers in their names. And all this raised a serious question about what hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. is doing. Souza has accepted the responsibility for the players not doing well at the plate. But the players were quick to defend their coach.

Manny Machado, who is going through a very rough patch. Came out and defended the coach.

“It’s the players. The players on the field hit or don’t hit,” Machado said.

Machado said that the batters are getting all the info and the help they need from the staff, but the players are not able to convert it on the field. But it wasn’t just him who defended Souza.

Padres’ new addition, Nick Castellanos, said, “He has all of the right information. He goes above and beyond to give it to all of us.” And Castellanos is the perfect example of the players not doing their job on the field. Castellanos is hitting .198 with three homers.

Manager Craig Stammen also refused to shift blame to just the coaching staff and said, “We’re struggling. Who is to blame? We’re all to blame.”

But even with these struggles, the Padres have continued winning because of their pitching. The Padres’ pitching has been decent, with an ERA of 3.93, and has given only 39 homers. With the bullpen doing a fantastic job with Mason Miller leading the charge, the Padres have stayed relevant in the race for the division title.

But if the pitching slips up, the Padres have no safety net with the offense, and that is a major concern.