NL WILD CARD SERIES: CUBS VS PADRES

September 28, 2026

Manny Machado

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Manny, you guys have essentially been playing playoff baseball for over a month now. Can you speak to that, and if at all, how you think it will help going forward into the playoffs?

MANNY MACHADO: Yeah, I guess so. It's been -- we've been playing good baseball as a group. To get to where we're at today, we have to play some good baseball. Yeah, just continue doing that, and I think we'll be just fine.

Q. How much do you think that the pressure and the intensity changes when it flips to the postseason, and how can experience help that, if at all?

MANNY MACHADO: Experience helps with everything. Experience helps with life. That's just how the world revolves. Yeah, it's definitely going to help. Being in these positions before, we have a group that's been here quite a bit now for a few years. So it's definitely going to help us.

Ultimately, it's just do what we've been doing. Nothing changes. It's a baseball game. We've got to go out there and get 27 outs and hopefully be the last team standing. Just try to do that.

Q. Manny, there was a point this season things didn't appear to be going super well. You were under .500 middle of the summer, and then things changed. Can you pinpoint what happened when you guys took off and went on the run, what the biggest reason for the kinds of baseball you played has been?

MANNY MACHADO: I think the biggest reason has been the trust and the belief we had in each other. Obviously we started off great, and then we kind of got into that stretch that we weren't too great. We believed in each other. We believed in the type of group that we had. We knew who we were as baseball players. We were going to overcome a lot of things.

So we just continued to trust the process, continued to trust the little things that got us better every single day and over a long period of season, things do change. So just trusting that and trusting the group as a whole, I think, helped us navigate through those tough times.

Q. The offense has certainly been a big part of the turnaround, what you've done, what Fernando has done, what Jackson has done. What gives you confidence that this lineup can continue to really produce at a similar type level heading into the postseason where you faced such good pitching?

MANNY MACHADO: Again, at the end of the day, just continue to do what we've been doing, not really looking for the long haul, just go out there and play a game, try to win tonight and continue doing that every single day. If we do that like we've been doing, I think we're going to be pretty good.

Q. Manny, you and Xander still have several years left on your deals, but I'm wondering at this stage in your careers, do you place any extra performance on any extra playoff trip? At this point, do you feel this is about maximizing your windows?

MANNY MACHADO: Not really honestly. It's always a blessing to have this opportunity to make it to postseason. I think this is everyone's goal when you start off at Spring Training. To be here, it's a blessing. It's not easy. It's hard. Baseball's hard.

Yeah, you obviously enjoy it and take full advantage of the situation. No, I think we have a group of guys that continue to get better every single year and get better every single day. If you continue doing that, hopefully we can reach our goal, which is to bring a championship to the city. I think that's the ultimate goal.

It's not my first, and hopefully it's not my last.

Q. Manny, you were once a 20-year-old trying to do a playoff race and then getting to play in the postseason. What was that experience like for you, and how much did it kind of help you grow in relation to kind of what Ethan is going through now?

MANNY MACHADO: Yeah, it's different times for sure. I was put in the middle of the fire to play a new position. It wasn't easy to go up to the Big Leagues and learn a new position and be in the middle of a fire. Yeah, man, I think ultimately when he came up, obviously you guys have seen what he's done for the last month and helped us out tremendously, offensively, defensively, mentally.

He's lucky to have a group of guys like us that, one, have the experience in the postseason, two, have a lot of veterans in there that can guide him in different directions and help him navigate a lot of situations and not let him get to the point where you struggle or let the noise get too loud or not let it get loud enough. We've got a good group of guys in there to lead him and help him continue doing what he's been doing.

Q. I'm sure you've noticed that there have been a lot of firsts since Manny Machado that Ethan has accomplished.

MANNY MACHADO: Makes me feel old.

Q. Has it been fun for you to kind of take a trip down memory lane?

MANNY MACHADO: Yeah, it's been awesome. I mean, being in this game for so long and now you see your name up there with the young guys, 20-year-olds, and see what he's doing, having clutch moments -- hopefully he has more triples. We both had a triple for our first. I'm kind of stuck at 20, I think. Hopefully he has more.

Yeah, a lot of similarities, man. He's got a bright future ahead of himself. Just to look back at those times, those were all fun times. I wish I was 20 again like he is. But my moment now is to guide him in the best way I can and help him succeed and hopefully succeed for a long time. Looking forward to the bright future that he has and that he brings.

Q. Manny, a lot of talent on last year's team, but why is this team better equipped for a deeper playoff run?

MANNY MACHADO: I mean, experience. At the end of the day, it goes back to experience. We have a lot of the same group that was here last year. Hopefully we get a lot further. But ultimately, I think it's just believing in ourselves, believing in the group that we have in there and go out there and just continue to do what we've been doing.

Q. Manny, this team beat you all in the playoffs last year. They beat you several times this year, including --

MANNY MACHADO: Are you (indiscernible) for San Diego?

Q. I am.

MANNY MACHADO: Why are you wearing blue?

Q. Did you like it?

MANNY MACHADO: Obviously not. I'm just asking.

Q. So they beat you several times this year. Does that boil in your blood still, or is that some faceless other opponent you just leave?

MANNY MACHADO: No, it's a new year, it's a different year. Obviously that stung last year for us. They played better ball than us last year. This year's going to be a little bit different. Hopefully we go out there and take care of business. Obviously playing in front of our home crowd and playing in front of these fans here, I think it's going to be a lot different. Definitely looking forward to that rematch for sure.

Q. Manny, last time you guys played the Cubs was back in June when Pete Crow-Armstrong was really starting to take off. As someone who's had many MVP level seasons during your career, what has it been like watching his season from afar?

MANNY MACHADO: It's been awesome, and it's been great to see the season that he's had, 40, 40, putting that team on his back. I see it coming. Last couple years it's been a little glimpse here and there of what he can do. Obviously he took his game to the next level. So to see him succeed like he has been, it's great for the game. It's good to see. I couldn't be more excited for a player like that.

I've met him a few times, humble kid, loves the game. To see guys like that succeed in this level, it's always awesome to see.

Q. Manny, Craig said that a major advantage you guys have is that you're batting last in this one. You mix that with 45,000-plus, just your thoughts on that and being back home, sleeping in your own bed, those types of things.

MANNY MACHADO: I think being at home is huge. We love playing here, playing in front of this crowd, playing in the stadium. Yes, obviously sleeping at home and being at home is obviously a big advantage, but I think the biggest one is playing in front of home crowd. They've brought the energy all year. They're going to continue to do it. To have a postseason here at home in front of them, they're definitely going to bring the energy. To play in front of them, I think we all feed off of that.