Machado has jumped into the NL MVP conversation, which Tatis had dominated earlier this season with his exciting play.

Again, Machado deflected talk away from himself.

“My mindset is just going out and winning that ballgame today,” Machado said. “We have a great team here, we have 28 MVPs on our ballclub, if it’s up to me. We’ve all been doing our job, we’ve all been passing the baton. We’ve been doing what we need to do to win ballgames every single night. That’s special to watch and that’s something special that we’ve been doing here all year.”

While Machado stayed hot with a multi-homer game that gave him 16 for the season — tied for the NL lead with Mookie Betts of the Dodgers — as well as 45 RBIs, Tatis remained mired in a slump. He went 0 for 4 with a walk and three strikeouts. He’s gone hitless in three straight games for the first time in his career and is 2 for 31 in his last nine games, with his average dropping from .314 to .275.

“I keep telling him, just keep playing the game,” Machado said. “At the end of the day it’s about winning games and the team. Better him going through it right now. He’ll break out of it soon.”

Paddack (4-4) was brilliant in bouncing back from his last start, when he left after just two innings due to a sprained ankle. He allowed only a single to Evan White leading off the third while striking out three and walking two.