The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-1, on Tuesday night and improved to 45-46 on the year. Right-hander German Marquez struck out four batters across five innings of work, allowing one unearned run. The bullpen held things down for the rest of the contest and allowed just two more hits to secure the much-needed win.Offensively, center fielder Jackson Merrill started things off with a first inning RBI single to tie the game. Later that same inning, infielder Jake Cronenworth slammed a three-run home run to take full control of the game. Ahead of the game, the Padres optioned right-handed pitcher Alek Jacob to Triple-A El Paso after he pitched three innings on Monday. In a corresponding move, right-hander Jhony Brito was recalled. He pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in Tuesday night's win.We have recalled RHP Jhony Brito from Triple-A El Paso and optioned RHP Alek Jacob to El Paso.— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 7, 2026After Monday night's loss in which the Padres were shut out, superstar Manny Machado fired back at a reporter who criticized his team's uncompetitive-appearing at-bats. “Have you ever stepped in a batter’s box to know what an uncompetitive at-bat is?” Machado responded. “We’re competing our ass off every single day. We got beat.”In other news, it's currently unknown if the Padres will buy or sell at the trade deadline. With many MLB insiders expecting A.J. Preller to be aggressive, the team has been linked to an All-Star on the New York Mets who would aid the struggling pitching rotation. Alternatively, a former All-Star (and briefly, a former Padre) on the Kansas City Royals has also been linked to San Diego, but this time, in a more intriguing way. Due to the size of his contract, he is someone that can be added without a relatively large return, which would be perfect if the Friars become low-key buyers at the deadline.Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article): Manny Machado Fires Back at Reporter for Criticizing Padres' 'Uncompetitive' At-Bats Padres Mapping Out Potential Scenario to Selling at Trade Deadline, Says Insider Padres Named Best Fit for Struggling Mets All-Star Ahead of Trade Deadline Padres Should Trade for Royals Pitcher Ahead of Deadline — Even With $46 Million Contract Mason Miller Admits Lack of Pitching Opportunities 'Not Easy' Amid Padres Skid Padres Manager Sends Message to Players Ahead of Trade DeadlinePadres Tweets of the DayThree-run blast into the Crone Zone 💥 pic.twitter.com/iLO0sS9RpN— MLB (@MLB) July 8, 2026— Padres On SI (@PadresOnSI) July 7, 2026Joe Musgrove threw a bullpen off the mound for the first time today. Only fastballs, at about 80 % strength, but a nice step. Still working a balance between pushing and keeping the arm happy. Pivetta also threw a bullpen (as he’s done a couple times now). Did PFPs too. #Padres pic.twitter.com/n19WFW0SwI— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) July 7, 2026"Mason Miller is the ultimate trade chip."Tom Verducci and BK share their thoughts on whether or not the Padres should be sellers at the Trade Deadline. pic.twitter.com/7554WllPou— MLB Now (@MLBNow) July 7, 2026Manny Machado fired back at a reporter for questioning the Padres for their "uncompetitive" at-bats on Monday night in their 8-0 loss😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/VILMKWjpQr— Padres On SI (@PadresOnSI) July 8, 2026Jackson Merrill on his message to frustrated Padres fans@FriarTerritory pic.twitter.com/arXBY5Of5E— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) July 7, 2026— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) July 8, 2026Padres need to be built to win NOW, not later@SdutKevinAcee talks Padres and Preller@JonSchaeffer says a big challenge is knowing when it's time to transition to the next era of Padres baseball"I'm not personally very interested right now in the 2029 version of the Padres" pic.twitter.com/0YWOnRXXGF— Padres Collective (@PadresHMA) July 7, 2026Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow