Tingler’s Thoughts on Machado, Tatis and Snell
Tags: Major League Baseball, Jayce Tingler, Padres, MLB, San Diego Padres

Tingler’s Thoughts on Machado, Tatis and Snell

The Padres go for a third straight win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles Saturday night. Padres manager Jayce Tingler spoke to that during his daily media session Saturday afternoon:

“We were in the same position last year,” said Tingler. “We won two here and we weren’t able to get another win. We know this will be an incredibly hard challenge. We like our chances with (Blake) Snell, but they have a tough one going in Trevor Bauer. Last night, for us to play nine solid innings and have those add-on runs late in the game … to kind of break through and have a big hit with runners in scoring position, for a lot of reasons, that ninth inning was big.”

Tingler then discussed the exploits of Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.

On Machado: “He’s played as well as anybody in big games. What’s so special about Manny, very few superstars have this ability … for whatever reason, he can rise to the occasion, so it feels like the bigger the game, the bigger the moment, he’s able to elevate his game. He’s great all the time, but it’s special watching him playing big games, big moments. He goes to another level. It certainly feels like the Dodgers series brings out the best in him. Some of our biggest, tightest game have been against the Dodgers, so to see him rise up, elevate his game and take other guys with him is great to see. Manny sees the ball well (against Bauer). He sees the ball well off a majority of guys. He always has a lot of confidence and he continues to swing at the right pitches good things are going to happen.”

On Tatis and his two-handed swing: “A lot of guys try to get more power. Watching him work, it sounds like a phrase, but for him, I think it is true certainly at the plate — less is more for him offensively. The tighter, shorter, quicker compact move he makes … you just don’t see the ball jump off many guys bats the way it does his. When he is short, direct compact, I don’t know if it is strength, flexibility, wiry strong, he has some type of unique ability. From what the doctors told us, the highest injury risk is getting off-balance and finishing his swing with one hand really high and kind of extreme over his head. We’re seeing him take a pretty good stress load off that, he’s done a great job. You’ll see him at times finishing with one hand, we just don’t want to see him release it with one hand during the swing. He seems more and more comfortable.

“We’re seeing some good signs with Tatis. More than anything the reps, rhythm and timing. He’s trending in the right direction. As long as he stays healthy, he’s quickly going to get it turned around and play the way he can. He’s taken some healthy, aggressive hacks. He’s gained confidence where he is physically.”

Tingler discussed Blake Snell, who faces the Dodgers Saturday night: “We want to see him come out and being able to establish the strike zone early. That’s going to help him find his groove and gain confidence and build. He’s got an opportunity in front of him. If he’s pitching his game, we like him against anybody in the league.”