Nolan Schanuel ends hitless skid as Angels sweep the Padres

Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto homered as the Angels finished off a three-game sweep of San Diego with a 3-2 victory Wednesday night after Padres star Manny Machado injured a leg.

The Padres announced after the game that Machado had a strained right hip flexor. The third baseman appeared to hurt his upper right leg after running out an attempted double play ball during the fourth inning. He was looked at by a trainer before walking gingerly back to the first-base dugout.

Manager Mike Shildt termed it as a low- to mild-grade strain and that Machado’s status is day-to-day going into the start of Thursday’s four-game series against Arizona.

Fernando Tatis Jr. had the seventh four-hit game of his career and first since 2021 as the Padres dropped four straight on the road for the first time this season.

It was the first time since last July against the Yankees that the Angels swept a three-game series at home. Coming into the series, the Angels had dropped 21 of 28 games at Angel Stadium, easily the worst home start in franchise history.

“Tough series. I’m not going to kid you,” Shildt said. “Start of the trip, we get two wins and then can’t pick up another one. I mean, today, another unusual game. Two swings got us, but they were were two big swings.”

José Soriano (3-5) had his fifth straight start in which he went at least six innings and gave up two runs (one earned) and six hits with one strikeout.

Matt Moore retired the side in the ninth for his first save since 2022 with Texas.

“The whole three games were outstanding,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “In the sixth and seventh inning, we made a few mistakes, but they didn’t lose their composure and kept playing.”

San Diego’s Dylan Cease (5-5) also went six innings and gave up three runs and four hits and struck out six.

“I think I came out of the gates a little flat, and it took me a couple of innings to get a rhythm,” Cease said. “Unfortunately, the damage was already done.”

Schanuel broke out of an 0-for-18 slump when he connected on a slider by Cease and hit the auxiliary scoreboard just above the wall in right-center. It was the Halos’ third leadoff homer this season and second by Schanuel.

Neto then made it 3-0 in the second with a two-run, two-out drive to left-center.

“Hopefully it gives the fans a lot of confidence that we could win at home,” Neto said. “To be able to come back from the road, where we got swept, and to turn the page and play the games we know how to play was big.”

San Diego broke through with two runs in the sixth. It opened the frame with three straight hits, but also took advantage of Angels errors.

After Luis Campusano led off with a base hit, Luis Arráez beat the shift with a double to left. Campusano scored and Arráez moved to third after Angels left fielder Taylor Ward threw it over the head of the shortstop Neto and the ball rolled all the way to the backstop near the first-base dugout.

Arráez then scored when Tatis hit a sinking line drive on which right fielder Jo Adell just missed making a sliding catch.

Up next

Angels right-hander Griffin Canning (2-5, 4.69 ERA) takes the mound Friday for the start of a weekend series against Houston.