The San Diego Padres came from behind to defeat the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of their three-game series to snap a four-game losing streak.
The San Diego Padres desperately needed to get back in the win column on Friday and did just that with a 7-5 comeback win over the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of a three-game set.
The stars haven’t been aligning for the Padres, as its top offensive players haven’t played nearly as well as they can to begin the year, but all of them stepped up in this one to avoid losing its fifth straight game.
Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts all drove in runs, including Merrill hitting a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh to put the Padres in front 7-5.
Tatis went 3-for-5 and has been seeing the ball well recently; the three-hit game marked his fourth multi-hit effort in his last five games. He still hasn’t hit a homer yet, but the breakout appears to be coming, and once he hits the first one, they might come in bunches.
Right-hander Lucas Giolito didn’t have his best stuff and ran into more command issues. The former All-Star, who was making his third start in a Padres uniform, lasted just 2.2 innings after allowing four runs on five hits and four walks with one strikeout. He remained undefeated because of the offense waking up, but his walk total has doubled his strikeout total (12:6), which may be a cause for concern moving forward.
The Padres will try to clinch the series victory in Game 2, as ace right-hander Michael King will toe the rubber against Nationals lefty Foster Griffin.
King has pitched great this season and San Diego has really needed him to pitch like the ace that he is. King is 4-3 with a 2.76 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 63 strikeouts through 11 starts (62 innings).
The Athletics did get to King in his last outing, though, as he allowed four runs on five hits and four walks while fanning four in 3.2 innings – marking his shortest start of the season. He will face the following Nationals lineup:
1. James Wood (RF)
2. Luis Garcia Jr. (1B)
3. Daylen Lile (LF)
4. CJ Abrams (SS)
5. Jose Tena (DH)
6. Jorbit Vivas (3B)
7. Dylan Crews (CF)
8. Drew Millas (C)
9. Nasim Nunez (2B)
Griffin has been an anchor in Washington’s starting rotation, posting a 6-2 record with a 3.63 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 60 strikeouts through 11 starts (62 innings).
He was dominant in his last outing against the Atlanta Braves, tossing six scoreless innings of three-hit ball with one walk and six punchouts to earn his sixth victory of the year. He will take on the following Padres lineup:
1. Tatis (2B)
2. Gavin Sheets (LF)
3. Miguel Andujar (DH)
4. Machado (3B)
5. Merrill (CF)
6. Bogaerts (SS)
7. Ty France (1B)
8. Ramon Laureano (RF)
9. Rodolfo Duran (C)
First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.
