Washington at San Diego

Washington at San Diego

This is Missed It. Washington at San Diego, Tuesday, September 8, 88 and partly cloudy at Petco Park, wind 12 miles an hour in from left field, with the Padres. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

It's a beautiful day for baseball here as the Washington Nationals come to town to face our San Diego Padres. The Nationals are in the building, and we've got a good one on our hands. Our Padres are looking to keep things rolling, and we've got the bats ready to go. Let's get this one started, Padres fans, because we've got a full nine innings of baseball ahead of us.

Innings 1-3

We get things started in the top of the first, and it's a clean inning for us. The Nationals send four batters to the plate, and they don't get anything across. But there's a moment early, with two outs and nobody on, when Dylan Crews steps in and rips a sharp line drive down the left field line. Dustin Harris gives chase, but that ball gets past him for a double. It's a notable play, a little warning shot from Washington, but we strand him right there. No runs, score stays zero-zero. We come up in the bottom of the first, and it's a quick one. Three batters, three outs, nothing doing. We're just trying to find our rhythm at the plate, and the Nationals' pitcher is dealing early. Score remains zero-zero. Top of the second, and this is where Washington gets on the board. With two outs and the bases empty, Yohandy Morales gets a hold of one and sends it deep to left field. That ball is gone, a solo home run, and just like that the Nationals have a one-nothing lead. It's a gut punch, because we had a chance to get out of the inning clean, and instead we're chasing. And they're not done. Jorbit Vivas follows that up with a sharp line drive to right field, and Fernando Tatis Jr. can't get to it. That's a double, and now they've got a runner in scoring position with two outs. But we get out of it, no further damage. Score is one-nothing, Washington. Bottom of the second, we send three batters up and we go down in order. We're struggling to get anything going against their starter, and it's frustrating, because we know we're better than this. Score stays one-nothing. Top of the third, the Nationals send three batters to the plate, and we set them down. Good, clean inning for our guys on the mound. We needed that. Bottom of the third, we come up and it's another quick one. Three batters, three outs. We're not making their pitcher work at all, and we've got to start making some adjustments. After three, it's Washington one, San Diego nothing.

Innings 4-6

Top of the fourth, the Nationals go down in order. Three up, three down, and we're keeping this game within reach. We just need the bats to wake up. Bottom of the fourth, we send four batters to the plate, but we can't push anything across. We're getting a little more traffic on the bases, but the big hit isn't coming. Score remains one-nothing. Top of the fifth, another clean inning for our pitching. The Nationals are getting frustrated, you can feel it. They had that early lead, and they haven't been able to add to it. Bottom of the fifth, we get four batters up again, but again, nothing across. It's one of those games where we're just one swing away, but that swing hasn't come yet. After five, it's still Washington one, San Diego zero. Top of the sixth, and this is where things get tough. With one out and nobody on, Abimelec Ortiz steps in and rips a sharp line drive to right field. Fernando Tatis Jr. gives it a run, but that ball gets down for a double. Now they've got a runner in scoring position with one out. We get the next batter, and we're one out away from getting out of it. But then, with two outs and two runners on, Brady House comes up. He takes a swing and sends a sharp line drive to center field. Jackson Merrill is sprinting, but that ball is in the gap. Abimelec Ortiz scores, CJ Abrams scores, and just like that, it's three-nothing Washington. That's a big blow, a two-run double that really opens this game up. We get out of the inning after that, but the damage is done. After six, it's Washington three, San Diego nothing.

The Sequence

Bottom of the sixth, we go down in order. Three batters, three outs, and we're running out of time. Top of the seventh, the Nationals send three batters up, and we set them down. We're still in this, but we need something to happen. Bottom of the seventh, and finally, a spark. We send five batters to the plate, and we push one across. The score is now three-one, Washington. It's not much, but it's something. It's a sign of life. We've cut the lead to two, and we've got the bats coming up. Top of the eighth, and Washington answers right back. With one out and nobody on, Andrés Chaparro steps in and sends a line drive to left field. That ball is gone, a solo home run, and the lead is back to four-one. It's a punch to the gut, because we had just started to build some momentum. But we're not done. Bottom of the eighth, and this is where the game turns. We load the bases with nobody out, and the crowd is on its feet. Austin Hays comes up, and he hits a sacrifice fly to right field. Xander Bogaerts tags up and scores, Freddy Fermin moves to third. It's four-two, and we've got a runner on third with one out. The momentum is shifting. Now, with one out and two runners on, Manny Machado steps to the plate. This is the moment. He takes a swing and sends a ground ball up the middle. Dylan Crews is charging in center field, but that ball gets through. Freddy Fermin scores, Fernando Tatis Jr. scores, and just like that, it's tied. Four-four. The crowd is electric. We've battled all the way back. And we're not done. With two outs and two runners on, Luis Campusano comes up. He takes a swing and sends a fly ball to right field. James Wood is tracking it, but it falls in. Manny Machado scores, Ty France moves to third, and we've taken the lead. Five-four, San Diego. The crowd is losing it. We've come all the way back from three down, and now we're in front. Top of the ninth, and we need three more outs. The Nationals send three batters to the plate, and we set them down. That's it. That's the ballgame.

Wrap-up

Final score, Washington four, San Diego five. We trailed by three, we trailed by three again in the eighth, and we never stopped fighting. That eighth inning, that was something else. The sacrifice fly, the Machado single to tie it, the Campusano single to win it. That's Padres baseball. That's what we do. We never give up, and we never stop believing. What a win, Padres fans. What a win.

Outro

That was Washington at San Diego, from the Padres side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.