Manny Machado’s eighth-inning swing flipped the night, and Luis Campusano finished the job as the San Diego Padres came all the way back to beat the Washington Nationals 5-4 on Tuesday night.
San Diego had spent most of the game chasing. The Padres were down 3-0 in the seventh and still trailed 4-1 in the eighth before finally cracking Washington’s bullpen and keeping themselves right in the thick of the NL wild-card race. The Diamondbacks stayed a half-game ahead of San Diego by winning 5-3 at Kansas City in 11 innings.
The Padres did their damage in one burst, scoring four runs in the eighth. Nationals reliever Jared Simpson walked the first three hitters he faced and was pulled for Erik Tolman (0-1). After pinch-hitter Austin Hays lifted a sacrifice fly that put runners at the corners, Fernando Tatis Jr. moved up to second on a passed ball.
Then Machado delivered. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, he lined a two-run single to tie it at 4. Ty France followed with a single, and Machado later scored with two outs when Campusano dropped a broken-bat blooper into center field for the go-ahead RBI.
David Morgan (3-1) was credited with the win after throwing one pitch and stranding a runner at third in the top of the eighth. Adrian Morejon closed it out with a perfect ninth for his third save, and San Diego picked up its fourth win in five games.
Machado’s night carried a little extra history, too. With his two singles, he moved past Garry Templeton and into sole possession of second place on the Padres’ all-time hits list with 1,137. Tony Gwynn remains the franchise leader with 3,141.
Washington got offense from Yohandy Morales and pinch-hitter Andrés Chaparro, who both homered, while Brady House added a two-run double. Still, the Nationals dropped their sixth straight and slipped into last place in the NL East, a game behind the New York Mets.
Riley Cornelio, just called up last week from Triple-A Rochester, gave Washington a strong start with four strikeouts over three perfect innings. On the other side, San Diego starter Case Mize worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits while striking out seven.
Up next, Nationals left-hander Jackson Kent (1-3, 5.55 ERA), recalled Tuesday from Rochester, starts Wednesday afternoon. Right-hander Walker Buehler (8-6, 4.56) will finish the three-game series for the Padres.
In Other News...
Padres Are Already Feeling Ethan Salas Impact In One Tough Spot
The Padres kept reshaping their catching picture this week, designating Blake Hunt for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot after activating Nick Pivetta from the 60-day injured list. It was a harsh reminder of how crowded that part of the roster has become, even for a player like Hunt, who has posted strong minor league numbers and looked like the kind of depth piece a club would want to keep around.
Ethan Salas is a big reason the squeeze has gotten tighter. His rapid climb through the system and into the majors has changed the way San Diego has to think about the position, pushing the organization to juggle its catching depth chart in real time. For Hunt, the issue was never just performance, it was timing and traffic, with multiple catchers already in the way of any clear path forward. [Read more 🡒]
Former Astros Pitching Bets Just Took Another Rough Turn
The Padres latest round of roster churn included a pair of familiar names with some upside but little recent traction. J.P. France and Jos Leclerc, both right-handed pitchers on minor league contracts, have been released after each spent time trying to work their way back into form in the organization. France had logged 10 2/3 innings for San Diegos Triple-A club, while Leclerc moved through four minor league levels as the Padres continued to sort through depth options on the pitching side.
For both pitchers, the next step appears to be free agency again, which keeps the door open for another club willing to take a look. It is the kind of turn that comes with this stage of the season for fringe arms: a chance to reset, find a better fit, and hope the next stop offers a cleaner path back to the majors. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Add Veteran Arm As Bullpen Depth Questions Keep Growing
The Padres added another experienced arm to their pitching mix this week, signing Trevor Gott to a minor league contract and assigning him to Triple-A El Paso. Gott brings big league time from stops with the Mariners and Mets, and he was most recently in the Nationals organization, making him a familiar sort of depth piece for a club that has spent much of the season shuffling through relief options.
San Diegos need for reinforcements showed up again with the roster moves that opened the door for Gott, as the club released right-handers J.P. France and Jos Leclerc. Whether Gott can work his way back into the picture from El Paso is the next question, but for now he joins a bullpen pipeline that keeps changing as the Padres look for dependable innings. [Read more 🡒]