Nationals Bullpen Collapses in Eighth as Padres Rally for 5-4 Win
The Washington Nationals appeared to be on their way to snapping their losing streak Tuesday night before everything unraveled in the eighth inning. Washington carried a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but the San Diego Padres scored four runs to rally for a 5-4 victory at Petco Park. The loss dropped the Nationals to 67-80 and extended their losing streak to six games, while San Diego improved to 77-68 and remained firmly in the National League wild-card race.
Washington did plenty right for most of the night, particularly on the mound. Riley Cornelio opened the game with three perfect innings and struck out four as part of a Nationals pitching plan that kept the Padres off balance for the first six innings. Zak Kent followed with two scoreless frames, while Yovanny Cruz worked a scoreless sixth as Washington held San Diego to only one hit through six innings.
The Nationals gave their pitchers an early lead in the second inning when Yohandy Morales continued to make an impression at the major-league level. Morales drove a Casey Mize fastball 406 feet to left field for a solo home run, giving Washington a 1-0 advantage. It was Morales’ second major-league home run and another encouraging moment for a young player receiving an opportunity during the final weeks of the season.
Washington added two more runs in the sixth after CJ Abrams drew a walk against Mize. Abimelec Ortiz also reached, setting up Brady House with two outs and an opportunity to give the Nationals some breathing room. House delivered by driving a two-run double into right-center field, scoring Abrams and Ortiz and extending Washington’s advantage to 3-0.
Mize kept San Diego in the game despite Washington’s early offense. The Padres starter went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk while striking out seven. Washington did not overwhelm Mize offensively, but the Nationals took advantage of their opportunities and appeared to have constructed more than enough offense with their pitching staff controlling San Diego.
The Padres finally broke through in the seventh inning. Manny Machado scored on a Jackson Merrill sacrifice fly, cutting Washington’s advantage to 3-1 and giving San Diego some life heading into the late innings. The Nationals immediately answered in the top of the eighth when pinch hitter Andrés Chaparro launched his 10th home run of the season, restoring Washington’s three-run advantage at 4-1.
At that point, the Nationals were six outs away from ending their losing streak. Instead, the bottom of the eighth became another example of why Washington has struggled to close games this season. Jared Simpson entered and walked Xander Bogaerts, Freddy Fermin and Fernando Tatis Jr. consecutively to load the bases without recording an out.
Managerial decisions become difficult when a reliever suddenly loses the strike zone, and Washington turned to Erik Tolman with the bases loaded. Austin Hays immediately brought Bogaerts home with a sacrifice fly, cutting the Nationals’ lead to 4-2. Washington still had an opportunity to escape with the lead, but San Diego’s most dangerous hitter was waiting.
Machado delivered the biggest swing of the inning. After battling Tolman through an eight-pitch plate appearance, Machado sent a two-run single up the middle, bringing home Fermin and Tatis and tying the game at 4-4. Ty France followed with a single that moved Machado into scoring position, putting the Nationals in even more trouble.
Luis Campusano completed the comeback with two outs. Campusano dropped a broken-bat RBI single into the outfield, allowing Machado to score and giving San Diego its first lead of the night at 5-4. In a matter of minutes, Washington went from holding a three-run advantage to needing a ninth-inning comeback of its own.
There would be no comeback. Adrián Morejón, working for the third consecutive game with Padres closer Mason Miller unavailable, retired Washington in order in the ninth to record his third save. David Morgan earned the victory after recording one out on just one pitch, while Tolman took the loss.
The final numbers make the defeat even more frustrating for Washington. The Nationals finished with seven hits compared with six for San Diego and committed no errors, while Morales and Chaparro each homered and House drove in two runs. Dylan Crews also collected two hits, but Washington struck out 11 times and managed only one walk.
For seven innings, the Nationals’ pitching strategy worked almost perfectly. Cornelio, Kent and Cruz combined to keep a postseason contender quiet, and Washington’s young hitters provided enough offense to establish a three-run advantage. The game changed because the bullpen could not throw strikes when it mattered most, beginning with Simpson’s three consecutive walks in the eighth.
Washington now has another difficult loss to process during a season that has increasingly become about evaluating players for the future. The Nationals fell to 67-80 with the defeat and slipped to six consecutive losses. San Diego, meanwhile, moved to 77-68 and remained just a half-game behind Arizona for the final National League wild-card position.
The Nationals will finish the three-game series against the Padres Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. Washington badly needs a clean game from beginning to end, particularly after losing multiple close contests during its current skid. For a young club trying to establish which players belong in its future bullpen, protecting late leads during September provides an important test.
MSB Take
This was a brutal loss because the Nationals did almost everything necessary to win for seven innings. The young hitters produced, the pitching plan worked and Washington entered the bottom of the eighth with a 4-1 lead. When a team is ahead by three runs with six outs remaining, especially after its pitching staff has controlled the opponent all night, that is a game it needs to finish.
The most concerning part was how quickly the eighth inning deteriorated. Three consecutive walks from Simpson handed San Diego exactly the opportunity it needed, and asking Tolman to enter with the bases loaded against the heart of a desperate Padres lineup was an extremely difficult situation. Washington is rebuilding, but developing a dependable bullpen has to become one of the organization’s priorities because young starting pitching and promising hitters cannot consistently overcome late-inning collapses.
There were still positives worth taking from the night. Morales continues to show intriguing power, House delivered in a major two-out situation, Chaparro provided an important insurance homer and Cornelio was excellent during his three perfect innings. The Nationals have young talent worth evaluating, but eventually those individual positives have to translate into victories, and Tuesday night was a game Washington simply let get away.
