A little more than three years have passed since Miguel Cabrera, an all-fields slugger Machado studied closely, became the 33rd and most recent player to enter the 3,000-hit club. Freeman and Altuve, with perhaps a handful more seasons, could approach elite territory around their 40th birthdays — an age that tends to bring plummeting effectiveness.

The win allowed the Giants to even the series and move to 35-28, while the Padres fell to 35-26 in the tight division race. The biggest moment of the game came early. In the top of the third inning, Padres third baseman Manny Machado launched his eighth home run of the season,