After a comeback win on Saturday, the Padres will seek a third straight series win in Sunday’s 10:40 a.m. series finale in Cincinnati on Padres.TV.

The Padres went 2-5 on their most recent road trip, but took two of three at home against the Royals and Nationals.

They enter Sunday in second place in the NL West, a half-game ahead of the third-place Giants and six games behind the Dodgers.

At 45-37, they are also tied with the Cardinals for the NL’s last wild-card spot, 2½ games ahead of the Reds (43-40).

Manny Machado will serve as the DH on Sunday, a half-day off for the only Padre to start every game this season.

Good morning from GABP. pic.twitter.com/1zWWj1DdkV

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 29, 2025

Machado is a .136/.240/.136 hitter over his previous six starts at the DH. He had two hits on Saturday, but he’s also in a in a .188/.243/.359 funk over his last 16 games at a time in which he’s hoping to beat out Max Muncy to start at third base in the All-Star Game.

With Machado at DH, Jose Iglesias will start at third base and bat seventh.

The top-four in a new look order remain unchanged and with the Padres facing Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo, shortstop Xander Bogaerts will bat fifth and Gavin Sheets will bat six as the left fielder.

Sheets is hitting .225/.263/.352 in 76 plate appearances against lefties, although he had two doubles on Saturday against left-hander Andrew Abbott.

Here is how the Reds will line up for the rubber match:

Rubber match from GABP.

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— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 29, 2025

Sunday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-3, 3.95 ERA)

He has a 6.60 ERA over his last three starts, all losses for the Padres. Kolek has a 2.13 ERA in seven starts on the road, compared to 9.20 in three starts at Petco Park. Kolek faced the Reds twice as a reliever last year, recording two outs across the scoreless appearances.

Three Reds have history with Kolek:

• OF Gavin Lux (0-for-2)
• INF Santiago Espinal (1-for-1, RBI)
• C Tyler Stephenson (0-for-1)

Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (5-5, 3.63 ERA)

He leads the majors with 10 hit batters and his strikeout rate is down from 12.3 per nine innings in 2023 to 8.1 per nine innings this season. Lodolo has a 5.49 ERA in four starts so far in June and a 5.06 ERA in eight starts at home. He last faced the Padres last year, allowing a run in seven innings while striking out 11 in a win.

Here’s how Lodolo has fared against current Padres: