Padres blank Nationals behind Snell’s six innings
After a blown lead and a tough loss on Saturday, the San Diego Padres were able to bounce back on Sunday’s rubber match against the Washington Nationals.
Blake Snell continued his hot second-half has he went six innings, allowing only three hits, while striking out 10 and walking none. In Snell’s last five starts, he owns a 0.94 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts over 28.2 innings.
The Padres were able to match Saturday’s run total through the first three innings after jumping on the board early against Paolo Espino, as he allowed seven hits and four runs over 5.2 innings. After a Jake Cronenworth double in the second, Trent Grisham moved Cronenworth to second with a bunt, and a Will Myers two-out double gave the Padres a 1-0 lead.
The first three batters gone on base in the third inning for San Diego. A Jurickson Profar walk and Juan Soto single led to a Manny Machado single to score Profar. Brandon Drury grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Soto and extend the lead to 3-0.
In the sixth inning, Grisham was the last batter Espino faced and was pulled after his two-out double. Will Myers, who had a three-hit and two RBI game, singled to score Grisham.
The ninth inning saw two Padres cross the plate after five reached base. A Myers bunt single was followed by a Jorge Alfaro hit-by-pitch to his head, and he remained in the game. A Soto walk gave Machado the bases loaded, and his infield single along with a throwing error scored Alfaro and Myers to give the Padres a 6-0 lead.
Every Padre reached base in Sunday’s win as they had nine hits and drew four walks.
The Padres committed two errors on Sunday, but were still able to shutout the Nationals behind a combined effort from three pitchers. Snell continued to pitch phenomenal baseball. Nick Martinez, who owns a 1.43 ERA in 25.2 innings since becoming a reliever, threw two shutout innings and was able to induce an inning-ending double play in the eighth. Robert Suarez pitched the ninth to end the game and close out the 6-0 win and series win.
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The Padres, now 65-52 after their second straight series win, travel to Miami for a three-game series starting Monday. First pitch on Monday is scheduled for 3:40 pm PST, with Joe Musgrove (8-5, 2.91 ERA) and Cy Young-favorite Sandy Alcantara (10-5, 2.01 ERA) scheduled to pitch.
Bobby is an Arizona State University alum and majored in Sports Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Fall 2023. Bobby is from San Diego, loves to write, and has a deep passion for baseball, football and basketball. He has co-hosted the “Devils Talking Padres” podcast and was a digital reporter and photographer for Cronkite News/Arizona PBS. He also broadcasted high school and junior college football games in Arizona as a play-by-play and color commentator.