Ty France smacked a game-tying solo home run in the top of the sixth inning and Jackson Merrill hit what would prove to be a game-winning two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to give the San Diego Padres a 7-5 win over the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
The home runs were the highlights for the Padres at the plate, but the high-wire act by the San Diego bullpen may have been the most critical part of the game. Mason Miller allowed a two-out walk
to James Wood to load the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning. Luis Garcia Jr. came to the plate with a chance to tie the game with a hit and put the ball in play with a sharp line drive to left field. Ramon Laureano got twisted around, but was able to recover and make the catch running back toward the wall to end the inning and the Washington scoring threat.
Miller came back out for the ninth inning and issued a leadoff walk to Curtis Mead, who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning off starter Lucas Giolito. Miller was able to lock in and looked more like the dominant closer the Friar Faithful have come to expect and struck out CJ Abrams, got a flyout from Dylan Crews and ended the game with a strikeout of Daylen Lile to secure the win for the Padres and earn his 17th save of the season.
Giolito was staked to a 1-0 lead after San Diego manufactured a first-inning run on a sacrifice fly from Xander Bogaerts to score Fernando Tatis Jr. Giolito gave up the lead with the two-run home run to Mead, which put Washington ahead, 2-1. The Nationals would push the lead to 3-1 with a solo home run by Keibert Ruiz in the bottom of the second and the Padres answered with and RBI-single from Manny Machado to score Gavin Sheets in the top of the third inning to make the score, 3-2. The single by Machado snapped an 0-for-35 streak with runners in scoring position for San Diego.
Washington regained a two-run advantage in the bottom of the third inning when Crews singled to score Abrams to make the score, 4-2. Giolito was replaced on the mound one batter later after allowing a walk to Jacob Young. Giolito ended his day with four runs allowed on five hits with four walks and one strikeout in just 2.2 innings pitched. The Padres answered back in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI-groundout from Freddy Fermin to pull within a run and then tied the game when Tatis hit an RBI-single to right field, which scored France. The Nationals took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Young singled to center field off Jeremiah Estrada to score Abrams to make the score, 5-4. That set the stage for France who tied the game with his solo home run in the top of the sixth before Merrill homered in the top of the seventh to give the Padres their first lead since the top of the first inning.
The back-and-forth game was much different than what San Diego fans have come to expect and the blast from Merrill may have provided a sigh of relief for many. He finished his night 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBI, but that followed a multi-hit performance in the final game of the homestand against the Philadelphia Phillies. Additionally, Tatis finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Machado went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. The Padres got production from each of their three struggling stars, which might indicate they are breaking out of their offensive slumps. France and Sheets also went 2-for-3 and were part of 10 total hits for San Diego.
The Padres snapped a four-game losing streak with the win and will look to make it two wins in a row today at 1:05 p.m.
Padres News:
- Craig Stammen has shown a willingness to do what it takes to help his team win games. He has shuffled the lineup, rotated players in and out of the lineup and has held his team accountable with comments in the media. AJ Cassavell of Padres.com looks at what Padres fans have learned about their first-year, first-time manager two months into his tenure.
- Jhony Brito is working to make his way back to the MLB roster for San Diego. He took a step in that direction with six scoreless innings in his latest rehab start.
- In some positive news on the injury front for the Padres, Nick Pivetta played catch.
Baseball News:
- The Los Angeles Dodgers hit four home runs and outslugged Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies to get win.
- Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami left their game with hamstring tightness and is expected to miss a couple weeks.
- The New York Yankees got a stellar start from Carlos Rodon and pushed their win streak to five games.
- Ethan Holliday, the Colorado Rockies top prospect, is expected to have season-ending foot surgery.
- Ezequiel Tovar lifts Colorado over the San Francisco Giants with walk-off home run.
- The New York Mets got a 9-7 walk-off win over the Miami Marlins.
- Bryan Reynolds hit a walk-off home run to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Minnesota Twins.
- The Seattle Mariners got a one-run win with walk-off against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
