The San Diego Padres have played three games in a four-game series against the Washington Nationals. With the Nationals coming into the game having the worst record, the playoff-contending Padres were expected to do quite well in this series. So far, the Padres have not played well against the lowly Nationals in this series.
The Padres dropped their first two matchups, but they won the third game of the series. The Padres still have to play the last game in the series, which will hopefully be a get-right game for starting pitcher Sean Manaea.
In the first game of the series, the Padres faced a starting pitcher who was coming into the game with an ERA above seven. Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez’s best start of the season came against the Padres in their previous series when he pitched in five innings and gave up three runs. Sanchez ended up improving on his previous start against the Padres. He gave up only one run in five innings pitched. He only gave up one hit and two walks in the contest while striking out four Padres hitters.
Starting pitcher Yu Darvish had a great outing for the Padres in this one. He pitched in eight â…“ innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He also had six strikeouts and did not give up a walk. He threw 96 pitches, which is incredibly efficient in eight â…“ innings of work.
Unfortunately, two of the runs he gave up came in the ninth inning when Josh Hader came into the game in relief with two runners on base. Hader gave up a hit, which drove in the two runners on base. The Padres lost this game 3-1.
The second game of the series was not better for the Padres, especially not for Hader. The Padres offense was mostly lackluster once again, earning only four hits. One of these hits was a two-RBI double from third baseman Manny Machado, which were two of the three runs scored by the Padres in this game.
The score was tied 3-3 going into the ninth inning. Unfortunately, Hader struggled once again, giving up three runs without recording a single out. The Padres ended up losing this game 6-3.
The third game of the series was a bounceback game for the Padres. The offense did not do much once again, but there were two important hits that gave the Padres the win. Designated hitter Josh Bell hit his first home run in a Padres uniform, which came in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The home run tied the game 1-1. In the bottom of the seventh inning, right fielder Juan Soto hit his second home run as a Padre to give the Padres a one-run lead.
Joe Musgrove started the game for the Padres and had a solid outing. He pitched in six innings, giving up only one run on four hits. He also had seven strikeouts and did not give up a walk. The Padres won the game 2-1.
The Padres now have a record of 67-56. The team currently holds the third wild card spot in the National League behind the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. The Padres are two games ahead of the struggling Milwaukee Brewers for the third spot in the NL Wild Card race.
The Padres will look to split the series against the Nationals before moving on to a two-game series at home against the Cleveland Guardians.