The Padres stole 23 bases over their first 15 games, tied for the second most in the majors in that span. It helped, of course, when players were getting on base far more consistently early in the season. Still, San Diego’s base-stealing game has largely ground to a halt.

The Padres ran into Chris Sale and ran into Ronald Acuña Jr. And then Manny Machado ran into one. And the Padres won. The erstwhile slugger’s first home run in 63 at-bats was the difference on Friday night in a 2-1 victory over the Braves that stopped a losing streak at six games.

San Diego Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado had a brief, but understandable, response to his game-winning home run Friday night.