The months long wait is over. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 451-foot solo home run in the top of the fifth inning that gave the San Diego Padres a 3-1 lead over the Washington Nationals. Padres starter Michael King was cruising through the first six innings of the game, and it appeared the Friar Faithful were going to see their superstar end his homerless drought and their team get a second consecutive win. That changed when the Nationals scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and cruised
to a 9-4 win at Nationals Park on Saturday.
The home run by Tatis followed solo home runs by Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado. Of course, all three home runs followed what proved to be the game-winning two-run home run by Jackson Merrill the night before. The Padres offense looked to be coming to life a bit with home runs from all four of their superstars, three of which have been mired in season long slumps.
King was performing like the ace he has shown himself to be. He allowed one run on a solo home run in bottom of the third inning and appeared to be in complete control. In the bottom of the seventh he allowed back-to-back singles before loading the bases with a walk. He then hit a batter and that made the score, 3-2. King was taken out of the game and was replaced by Bradgley Rodriguez who could not get out of the inning. before the Nationals had a 7-3 lead. It was a difficult inning to watch, even for San Diego manager Craig Stammen who was ejected arguing a force play at second base.
Machado hit an RBI-double in the top of the eighth inning to make the score, 7-4 but Wandy Peralta allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and the 9-4 deficit proved to be too much for the Padres to overcome. San Diego will have a chance to win the series against Washington today 10:35 a.m.
Padres News:
- Any time your team goes 3-6 on a homestand it’s going to be a long and difficult week. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball recaps the week that was and highlights some of the struggles that led the Padres to a losing week at Petco Park.
- Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster and for Padre John Kruk thinks Jackson Merrill will break out of his slump and be fine according to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Baseball News:
- Chicago Cubs outfielder Pere Crow-Armstrong responded to chants of “overrated” by homering in Chicago’s 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
- The Los Angeles Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays 14-3, but it was three pregame ejections that made the headlines.
- Ronald Acuna Jr. had a multi-homer day, and the Atlanta Braves got their 40th win of the season.
- Pete Alonso gets walk-off hit to lead Baltimore Orioles to comeback win.
- Munetaka Murakami has significant hamstring injury and will miss four to six weeks for Chicago White Sox.
- Bryan Woo pitches the Seattle Mariners past the Arizona Diamondbacks and extends their win streak to five games.
