Padres pregame: Brandon Dixon back at first base, Manny Machado still out

While Padres manager Bob Melvin has indicated that the homestand is a better bet for Manny Machado’s return from the injured list, the superstar third baseman himself is not ruling out playing before leaving hometown Miami.

That won’t happen Wednesday (Click here for how to tune in to the 3:40 p.m. first pitch in the post-Bally Sports San Diego era).

Machado remains on the injured list and is thus out of the starting lineup, leaving Ha-Seong Kim to continue to man third base and giving Brandon Dixon yet another opportunity to carve out a long-term role on the team.

Dixon will play first base and bat fifth, between shortstop Xander Bogaerts and second baseman Jake Cronenworth. Dixon is hitting .233/.324/.367 across 34 plate appearances in the majors this year but is 5-for-18 with a home run and a double in 22 plate appearances (.909 OPS) during this most recent call-up.

Dixon has played first base and right field in the majors and both corners on the infield and outfield in the minors, where he has a .689 slugging percentage over the last year-plus at Triple-A El Paso. Power production like that rarely translates when moving from the Pacific Coast League to San Diego, but his positional flexibility could add intrigue moving forward if the Padres do not get more out of the DH spot soon.

Matt Carpenter, for instance, was hitless on the road trip before going 2-for-5 with three RBIs on Tuesday, upping a poor May batting line to .129/.250/.226.

With a left-hander on the mound on Wednesday, Nelson Cruz gets today’s start at DH. He’s hitting .139/.205/.139 with no extra-base hits or RBIs this month.

Cruz will hit seventh on Wednesday, his lowest start in the order this year.

Here is Miami’s lineup:

Wednesday’s pitching matchup

Padres LHP Blake Snell (1-6, 5.04 ERA)

The one run he allowed in five innings in his last start was a season-low, but he did walk four and is sitting on the worst walk rate of his career (5.6 per nine innings). Snell has a 3.86 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins and last faced them in 2021, allowing one run in six innings in a win.

Here is how Snell has fared against current Marlins:

Marlins LHP Braxton Garrett (1-2, 4.50 ERA)

The seventh overall pick in 2016 has a 1.65 ERA over his last three starts. Garrett faced the Padres twice in 2021, allowing seven runs in 10 1/3 innings.