The first inning of Sunday’s game between the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies featured a moment that the Padres, their fans and fans of baseball did not want to see.
Manny Machado grounded out to the pitcher to end the top of the first inning. As he went into first base to try to beat the close play out, he stepped awkwardly on the base and came up injured.
The absolute last thing the Padres want to see. Manny Machado appears to hurt his ankle after stepping on first base on a groundout. pic.twitter.com/8PJMZwAUNH
— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) June 19, 2022
We can’t say for sure what the injury was or how severe it will be. That said, it did not look good.
Baseball fans reacted to the injury, sending Machado their best wishes.
This is why no @Padres fan should ever care if Manny Machado doesn’t runs out a ground ball. https://t.co/PPXFLKlupt
— seth (@seths2005) June 19, 2022
And with that injury to Machado, the curse of San Diego returns pic.twitter.com/KAqfPpi7QQ
— Broox (Trent grisham bunted) (@BroHaver) June 19, 2022
If I ever hear anyone talk about hustling in the context of manny machado ever again, I’m gonna lose it. https://t.co/saSutkAJBs
— Patrick Mallon (@patrickrmallon) June 19, 2022
No surprise, but Manny Machado is officially out of the game in the 1st inning. Terrible – he’s having an MVP season. Hoping it’s not as bad as it looked for the #Padres star.
— Kelsey Wingert-Linch (@KelsWingert) June 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/ChrisSpiering/status/1538603751799328768
More about the injury will be revealed after the game and in the coming days. But Machado was taken out of the game and even in the best case scenario, will likely miss a decent amount of time.
Machado is on a short list of MVP candidates in the National League. Entering Sunday, he was hitting .329/.401/.548 with 12 home runs, 48 RBI, 46 runs scored and seven stolen bases. If he is forced to miss substantial time, it will be a blow to the Padres, who came into Sunday’s game at 41-26 and only one-half game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West.
