Manny Machado hit indoors Saturday afternoon before taking his bat onto the field for the first time, parking several balls in the second deck of the Estrella Jalisco Landing and the Western Metal Supply Co. building. He progressed to taking grounds on the field for the first time — albeit either right at him or a step or two in either direction of him — and added lateral cone work to what had largely been straight line jogging in right field the past two days. He has not run the bases yet.

The Padres’ third baseman is, predictably, not in Saturday’s lineup against the Phillies. How close he is to pinch-hitting remains to be seen.

“We’ll leave that up to the training staff right now,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “I’m sure you were out here watching him swing the bat. He could probably do that in his sleep. I think it’s more about the running portion of it that will be the last hurdle for him.”

Machado hitting on the field … pic.twitter.com/LrMfl8tgbn

Machado sprained his left ankle as he crossed first base on Sunday in Colorado, an injury that looked like it could sideline him for weeks.

Machado, however, has not been on the injured list since 2014 and continues to instill confidence in the coaching and training staffs that he can avoid a trip to the IL this time, as he did last year while playing through a shoulder injury.

And now taking grounders at third base … pic.twitter.com/nPTx4gNTUz

“Looked pretty good,” Melvin said of Saturday’s pregame workout. “ … I think running, getting to the base, turning — those things are probably going to be the most difficult for him right now. But just another step in the right direction.”

Without Machado, Ha-Seong Kim is again at third base and rookie CJ Abrams is at shortstop, the two sandwiched around center Trent Grisham in the eight-hole.

Got @snellzilla4 on the bump 🦖 pic.twitter.com/8AS5PmSRVr

As far as replacing Machado as a run-producer, the Padres will give Jorge Alfaro a shot in the three-hole, his first start in that spot with the Padres and fifth overall.

Alfaro is hitting .333/.379/.648 with four homers this month.

The Padres have scored just three runs the first two games of this series after outscoring the Diamondbacks 17-7 in a three-game sweep.

Abrams is 3-for-17 with a run scored, no walks and two strikeouts since he returned from Triple-A El Paso.

Before the game, the Phillies recalled former No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel — he went one spot ahead of USD’s Kris Bryant in 2013 — to pitch out of their bullpen for a long-awaited MLB debut. The 30-year-old Appel, a righty, had a 1.93 ERA, 24 strikeouts and an 0.93 WHIP in 28 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Here is the Phillies’ lineup:

Saturday Night Baseball ⭐️ #RingTheBell 📺: @NBCSPhilly 📻: @SportsRadioWIP 📱: https://t.co/HhDxScbmEV // https://t.co/vgbMhIMsON pic.twitter.com/pWVhyUZU6G

Phillies RHP Zach Eflin (2-5, 4.43 ERA)

He exited Sunday’s start after 38 pitches with a bruised right knee but has the green light to start after Wednesday’s bullpen session. Eflin was a tough-luck loser last month against the Padres, allowing one run on five hits in six innings in a 3-0 loss in Philadelphia.

The Padres drafted Eflin 33rd overall in 2012 and included him in the Matt Kemp trade with the Dodgers, who flipped him to Philadelphia for Jimmy Rollins. Here is how he’s fared against current Padres hitters:

Padres LHP Blake Snell (0-4, 5.46 ERA)

The Padres have yet to win any of his starts. Snell made his 2022 debut in Philadelphia, striking out five and allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. He has a 4.26 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies. Snell is averaging 5.2 walks per nine innings.

Here is how he’s fared in his career against current Phillies:

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