Padres Hammer Washington, 9-2, To Complete Series Sweep

The San Diego Padres completed their series sweep over the Washington Nationals today with a 9-2 win as they pounded out 16 hits, with Jackson Merrill getting two homers, four hits and six RBIs to lead the route. 

Washington got on the board early against starter Walker Buehler in the third inning, starting with a solo homer from Keibert Ruiz. Walker quickly lost his command after that, as he walked a pair of hitters to go with a Jacob Young single, and Dylan Crews singled to bring a second run home and give the Nats a 2-0 lead. 

The Padres bounced right back in their half of the inning, though, starting with a single from Fernando Tatis Jr. A Manny Machado walk followed, and Ty France singled to score Tatis. Jackson Merrill then cleared the bases with a two-run triple to give San Diego a 3-2 lead. 

The Padres padded that lead in the fourth when Austin Hays and Samad Taylor hit back-to-back singles, and with Hays scoring on an errant throw from pitcher Jackson Kent on the play. Jase Bowen then bunted Taylor to third, and another single from Tatis made it 5-2 Padres. 

Manager Craig Stammen had an aggressive hook in this one, as Walker was pulled after just 2-1/3 for reliever Kyle Hart, who also threw 2-1/3 innings as he shut the Washington attack down. 

Merrill struck again in the fifth to blow the game open after a Kyle France double, as he hit a two-run, opposite field homer to give San Diego a 7-2 lead. 

Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta were the next two relievers up, and both kept things scoreless, with the Padres adding single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to turn the game into a laugher. 

Merrill was in the middle of both scores as he hit a solo homer in the eight, then reached on an infield single to score yet another run in the ninth. 

Griffin Canning finished off the ninth to complete what became a fine bullpen game after Buehler’s early exit. The Padres pen gave up just one hit and a walk over 6-1/3 innings to make sure the hard-hitting Nationals didn’t mounta comeback. 

The Padres will now await the result of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ game against the Kansas City Royals to see if they can leapfrog back over the Dbacks in the wild card standings and re-secure their postseason spot.