PADRES LOSE GROUND TO CARDINALS IN WILD CARD

Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. put their squabble to rest publicly and then declared there was no more time for losing.

“We need to win 13 if we want to get where we want to be,” Machado said Tuesday afternoon.

The team’s two biggest stars, who on Saturday had a heated dugout exchange in St. Louis, did their part at the start Tuesday to try to help Padres to the first of those victories.

They could not quite make the difference, however, as the Giants struck the final blow in a back-and-forth game at Petco Park, scoring on three consecutive singles against Mark Melancon in the ninth inning and holding on for a 6-5 victory.

Machado ended the game by grounding into a double play. But he also launched the Padres on Tuesday by hitting home runs to the upper portion of the Western Metal Supply Co. building in his first two at-bats. Tatis drove in a run with a single as the Padres built a 3-1 lead. That swelled to 4-1 before the Giants took a 5-4 lead and the Padres tied the game in the sixth.

The Padres fell to five games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the National League’s second wild-card spot.

Tommy La Stella led off the three-game series the same way he began the series last week in San Francisco — with a home run.

A double play ended the top of the first with the bases loaded, and Padres starter Joe Musgrove retired 10 straight to get to the fifth inning with a 4-1 lead. The Giants then strung together three hits at the start of the fifth to get to 4-2 and added a run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

Doubles by Kris Bryant and Brandon Crawford began the sixth inning, tying the game. The Giants took a 5-4 lead when Crawford scored on a sac fly by Mike Yastrzemski.

Two batters after Machado’s second homer, Tommy Pham sent a ball into the seats beyond left.

Austin Nola’s solo homer leading off the sixth inning tied the game 5-5.