By admin 
The Padres will get two veterans off their feet to close their 10-game road trip.
Read more Lions 2026 Training Camp Roster: Full 90-Man Roster (And Who’s on the Bubble)
Manny Machado will serve as the DH and Xander Bogaerts is out of the lineup entirely for Sunday’s 10:40 a.m. start in Miami on Padres.TV.
Machado (.723 OPS) is serving as the DH for the second time in three days.
He leads the team with 22 homers and has seen his batting average climb to .207, up from worst in the majors to eighth worst among qualifiers.
Machado is hitting .280/.375/.547 with six homers for a .922 OPS In July.
The day off for Bogaerts is his first since July 6. He is hitting .157/.277/.257 for a .534 OPS in July. It is the third straight month he’s had an OPS under .600 after opening the season with a .784 OPS in March/April.
In Bogaerts’ place, Sung-Mun Song (.616 OPS) will man shortstop and bat ninth. Song is hitting .231/.318/.359 for a .677 OPS in July.
Fernando Tatis Jr. (.747 OPS) is back right field after a DH day and will lead off, followed by Jake Cronenworth (.599 OPS), Machado and first baseman Ty France (.885 OPS).
Read more Factbox-Major vehicle-ramming incidents in Germany since 2016
Luis Rengifo (.508) will get the start at third base in place of Machado and bat sixth, followed by left fielder Gavin Sheets (.711 OPS) and catcher Luis Campusano (.900 OPS).
The Padres (52-53) have won the first two games in Miami to pull to within three games of the NL’s five wild-card spots. They do, however, have only four teams to overtake now after handing the Marlins (52-53) a franchise-record-tying 11th straight loss on Saturday.
The Padres playoff odds have crept up to 12.8%, according to Fangraphs.
Here is how Miami will line up for the series finale:
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Walker Buehler (6-5, 5.23 ERA)
Allowing two runs in 5⅔ innings in a win was an improvement after posting a 16.36 ERA over his three previous starts (11 IP). Buehler still walked five while scattering two hits. Buehler has a 3.86 ERA in seven career starts against the Marlins, including five shutout innings in a win last year.
Here is how Buehler has fared against current Marlins:
Marlins RHP Janson Junk (4-6, 5.09 ERA)
He’s got a 7.92 ERA over his last six starts. He has been better at home (4.36 ERA, 43⅓ IP) than on the road so far (6.31 ERA, 25⅔ IP), but he’s allowing an .885 OPS against lefties compared to a .579 against righties. Junk will be making his first career appearance against the Padres.
Read more Cuban president accuses US of ‘political genocide’ on anniversary of revolution
Four current Padres have history with Junk:
- INF Luis Rengifo (3-for-5, 2B, RBI, HBP)
- C Freddy Fermin (0-for-2)
- 1B Ty France (0-for-2, K)
- 1B Gavin Sheets (1-for-2, 2B, K)
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published July 26, 2026 at 8:38 AM.