Padres' Manny Machado Addresses Viral Kicking Incident During Red Sox Game

Third baseman Manny Machado played the role of hero on Sunday for the San Diego Padres.

Machado hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to put the Padres up 6-4. It was his first home run and runs batted in of the year, and helped shift the momentum in San Diego's ultimate 8-6 win.

He did the Mash. He did the Monster Mash. pic.twitter.com/nJfLkkJzzy
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 5, 2026

Machado's home run was arguably his second-most notable play of the game, though.

In the top of the fourth inning, Machado followed hits by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill with one of his own. Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez then tried to pick Machado off at first base, and he collided with the ball, kicking it into foul play and allowing himself and Merrill to advance to second and third. Both later scored on a two-run single by Nick Castellanos.

The Red Sox argued that Machado intentionally kicked the ball. Machado denied those allegations.

"Nah, I mean, I'm trying to get out of the way," Machado said after the game. "It was perfect timing. ... I couldn't be better than that."

He jokingly added: "I think I picked the wrong sport. [San Diego] FC should probably sign me up."

Willson Contreras tried telling the umpire that Manny Machado intentionally kicked this ball into foul territory pic.twitter.com/2vOfKBYdqq
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 5, 2026

While in real time it seemed like a clear accident, the slow motion replay seems to show Machado pausing for a moment before trying to get back to the base. That could make it look like he was trying to collide with the ball.

However, he said he was just trying to get out of the way of the low throw.

"Kind of got me by surprise, saw the ball coming in, trying to jump out of the way and as it came down I had perfect timing," Machado said. "You're trying to bounce up and get out of that way of that ball, you know?

"I started low, obviously. So, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to slide or not, going back into the base. And then obviously, I saw the ball coming kind of down low so I kind of jumped up in the air. As I'm coming down and kind of my foot just came in, and I obviously hit it."

Manager Craig Stammen argued that Machado wasn't looking at the ball, and happened to get in the way of the "bad throw" by Narváez.

"He doesn't have to beat the throw, he only has to beat the first baseman," Stammen said. "It was just a bad throw that hit his ankle."

Whether the kick was intentional or not, the Padres got the last laugh by winning the series to move to 4-5 on the year. The Red Sox, on the other hand, continued to spiral, as they're 2-7 early in the new season.

The Padres are now heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates where they'll look to get back to .500 for the first time this year.