​The San Diego Padres expected third baseman Manny Machado to carry them for at least part of the first half of the season, but instead the opposite happened. Machado’s offense cratered, and he wound up with the worst batting average among qualified hitters in baseball, according to a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.But there have been signs of life lately. As Cassavell noted, Machado went 8-for-16 across the final four games, including a three-hit effort in the final game of the Toronto series on Sunday. Not coincidentally, the Padres won that game, and they rebounded from their recent rough stretch to take the series.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It’s a game-changer,” Stammen said. “The Padres have always gone how Manny goes.”That comment is especially telling when you break down Machado’s numbers. He’s had 19 home runs, which puts him on track for a 30-homer season. But the Padres need more hitting on a daily basis, and he’s finally managed to crawl above the Mendoza line. The Padres have been getting steady production from Fernando Tatis Jr., but that hasn’t included home runs to date.“I was kind of stuck at .180 there for a long time,” Machado said with a wry smile. “Definitely better to start the second half with a ‘2’ up there.”The series win against Toronto was important. It cut the Padres’ margin in the wild-card race from 5-1/2 to 3-1/2 games, and they’ll get a chance to play one of the teams ahead of them in their upcoming road trip when they visit the Miami Marlins. Before that they get a chance to rack up a few wins against the bottom-feeding Kansas City Royals, which is important.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStammen also understood the importance of those last two wins.“It’s just a good taste in our mouth that we can think about for the next four days,” said manager Craig Stammen. “And then get back after it on Friday.”The other big question going forward is about how the Padres are going to get those wins given the state of their rotation. It’s full of discards and back-end types, and it’s difficult to imagine this group producing a sustained run of excellence.There’s also been some communication coming from ownership about the possibility of a trade deadline spend, but those reports include information that the sale hasn’t been finalized yet. That needs to happen quickly, otherwise this could be a lost season in San Diego.