The San Diego Padres had trouble scoring again as they lost their three-game series to the Washington Nationals.
The San Diego Padres lost the rubber game of their three-game set against the Washington Nationals, 4-2, and they’ve now lost seven of their last eight games as they continue to have trouble scoring enough runs to win.
The game was scoreless for the first three innings as Padres starter Griffin Canning matched zeroes with Zack Littell of the Nationals. Washington got on the board first via the long ball, initially on a solo home run by Luis Garcia Jr in the fourth. They made it 3-0 in the fifth on a two-run-bomb by James Wood, and these days that’s a deep hole for the Padres.
Canning wound up giving the Padres what they’ve typically been getting from their back-end starters, which is a five-run, three-inning outing when they’re good, and a blow-out deficit when they’re bad that almost automatically leads to a loss. Canning gave up six hits and walked two with three strikeouts.
The Padres rallied in the seventh to get back in the game, and they actually had a chance to tie this one when some horrendous base running did them in.
The runs scored on a walk to Xander Bogaerts and a bunt single by Jackson Merrill, followed by a Ty France doubled to left that scored Bogaerts and got Merrill to third. Nick Castellanos drove home the second run on a sacrifice fly that scored Merrill and moved France to third.
Song decided to try to steal second with Miguel Andujar at the plate and the tying run on third with just one out, but the play became a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out play when Song got gunned down by catcher Keibert Ruiz and Andujar was called out on strikes. Andujar challenged the called third strike, but the call stood and the comeback effort was over.
The Nats added an insurance run in their half of the seventh of relievers Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon. The rally started with a walk and a single, and a double by pinch hitter Andres Chaparro off Morejon made it 4-2, with the run being charged to Estrada.
That was it for the Padres offense as Orlando Ribalta pitched a scoreless eighth, and Clayton Beeter closed it out in the ninth for his fourth save of the year. The Padres now head north to play the same Philadelphia Phillies team that swept them last weekend in San Diego as the Padres continue to fall further behind the Dodgers and give the Arizona Diamondbacks more opportunities to take over the second spot in the NL West.
