Machado's 418-Foot Blast Is All San Diego Needs
One swing. That's all it took. Manny Machado crushed a 418-foot home run to center field, and Michael King made sure it was the only run that mattered in San Diego's 1-0 win over Atlanta on June 23.
The game was a pitcher's duel from the jump, and for three innings it looked like neither offense was going to crack. Then Machado stepped in and ended the suspense. His solo shot to center — 418 feet — was the lone run of the night, swinging San Diego's win probability from 57% to 71% in a single stroke. That was the ballgame. Everything else was just paperwork.
Michael King was the story on the mound. He went 7.0 innings, allowing 6 hits, zero earned runs, zero walks, and striking out 5. That is a dominant line in any context, but consider what he was working against: Austin Riley went 3-for-4, and Atlanta put four other hitters — Mauricio Dubon, Matt Olson, Michael Harris II, and Mike Yastrzemski — each at 1-for-4. The Braves made contact. King just refused to let any of it matter. Adrian Morejon came on and finished things cleanly with 1.0 inning, no hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. San Diego's pitching staff combined for a shutout without breaking a sweat in the late innings.
Atlanta's pitching situation looks like the real problem here. Grant Holmes lasted just 4.2 innings, giving up 3 hits and 5 walks while allowing the one earned run that decided everything. Five walks in fewer than five innings is a recipe for disaster, and on this night Machado made them pay for the one mistake that mattered. Dylan Dodd came on in relief and was sharper — 1.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts — but the damage was already done. Riley's 3-for-4 night was the lone bright spot in an Atlanta lineup that generated plenty of singles and nothing else. With the 2026 season approaching its halfway point, this appears to be exactly the kind of tight, low-margin game that separates genuine contenders from the field — and tonight, San Diego had the pitcher and the slugger to close it out.