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Dodgers fans hating on Manny Machado is perfect energy for rivalry with Padres

By Thomas Carannante

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 22: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres reacts to his out to end the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 22, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 22: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres reacts to his out to end the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 22, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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In case Los Angeles Dodgers fans needed any more of a reason to hate the San Diego Padres, the division rivals have won the last three games between these teams.

Did they need more of a reason to hate Manny Machado? Probably not, but they got one!

The former Dodger made a spectacular catch at third base on Friday night, which ended up being a game-saving play.

Mookie Betts lined a screamer Machado’s way in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and runners on first and second, and the Gold Glover went full extension to snag it out of the air and save a run.

And Machado heard the wrath of the fans in the form of “Manny Sucks!” chants in the top of the eighth.

And that’s only with a maximum capacity of 15,000 fans this early in the season due to COVID-19. Imagine what it’ll sound like when Dodger Stadium potentially hosts a sold-out crowd of 56,000 when these two teams go to battle later in the season!

Manny might get blown away in the batter’s box thanks to the sound waves.

But for now, the limited amount of Dodgers fans will have to keep bringing this energy, because it’s exactly what the rivalry needs. And the Dodgers need the support, too, since they now trail the season series as their offense has gone silent since last Saturday.

Dodgers fans don’t need a reminder about Machado’s stint with the team in 2018, which featured a horrific showing in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. At the very least, Machado has made himself hateable with his antics, effort and trash talking … unlike Yu Darvish, who was awful in the 2017 World Series for the Dodgers and has been nothing but nice ever since and during his time with the team. He carved up the Dodgers on Friday night, but all fans cared about was directing their ire toward Machado.

The Dodgers and Pads have two marquee games left. The next is Saturday night, which will feature Round 2 of Trevor Bauer vs Blake Snell. Then, on Sunday Night Baseball, Dustin May will face off against Joe Musgrove in what could be a series-saving game for LA.

The marathon is far from over and it’ll be up to Dodgers fans to maintain the stamina to keep putting the Padres in their place.

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