Padres offense explodes in 13-3 victory over Nats
Credit: AP Photo
A day after ending a three-game game skid with a 10-0 victory over San Francisco, the Padres returned home Friday night with eyes on gaining some momentum. San Diego got just that.
Starter Joe Musgrove got a quick 1-2-3 inning before turning it over to the offense. Ha-Seong Kim led off the bottom half with a home run to dead center field to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a single and a stolen base, but Patrick Corbin was able to strand him at third base to end the inning.
You can't stop him cause he's Kim Possible 😏#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/F30fhcLI9U
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 24, 2023
After retiring the first seven batters, Musgrove was tested in the third inning after allowing back-to-back hits to Derek Hill and CJ Abrams. After striking out Lane Thomas, Musgrove was able to get Luis Garcia to ground out to end the threat.
Corbin seemed to be settling down after getting three straight scoreless frames until he hit the fifth inning. Jake Cronenworth led off with a single. Two batters later, Trent Grisham reached via hit-by-pitch before advancing with Cronenworth on a passed ball. Kim delivered again, this time a single to center to drive in both runners. Back-to-back walks led to a huge bases loaded opportunity for Manny Machado, who scored one on a force out.
The inning didn’t end there, though. After sitting on the bench Thursday, Xander Bogaerts took advantage of changeup over the middle of the plate, sending it to deep left-centerfield for a three-run home run. It was Bogaerts second big fly since April 29, as the shortstop has been dealing with some wrist soreness. The blast gave the Padres a commanding 7-0 lead.
This was simply eXcellent 😌#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/HOo91SfU7D
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 24, 2023
Musgrove was extremely efficient on Friday night. The right-hander’s only blunder game came in the sixth inning on a two-out ground-rule double to left field by Jeimer Candelario. The third baseman would score immediately on a single from Joey Meneses. Musgrove went seven innings, striking out seven while allowing just one run on six hits and no walks.
He was “connecting” with Gary all night pic.twitter.com/SacTsZXmEh
— Al Scott (@AlScott1998) June 24, 2023
The San Diego native is now 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts in his last six starts over 36.1 innings pitched.
Tatis led off the bottom of the seventh with another base hit. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Juan Soto doubled to left-center to make it 8-1.
Later in the inning, Nelson Cruz singled in two as the Padres reached double digits in runs for consecutive games. Trent Grisham followed with an RBI double to make it 11-1.
More runs? More runs!!!#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/oiXFgLCYVX
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 24, 2023
Adrian Morejon came in to replace Musgrove, retiring three of the four batters he faced. Stone Garrett ripped a two-out double to left field but was left stranded.
Tatis reached base (again) to lead off the eighth inning. He didn’t have to wait long to score, though, as Soto would crush a two-run home run to right center field. Soto is hitting .343 with 3 HRs and an absurd 1.206 OPS against his former team.
Soto Smash™️#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/xTegzdDRvs
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 24, 2023
The Nationals scored two runs off reliever Ray Kerr in the ninth inning, but it was a moot point in the 13-3 contest.
Manager Bob Melvin told reporters postgame, “We’ll see. I’m considering it right now,” it regards to starting Kim tomorrow against right-hander Josiah Gray. Kim has led off now in back-to-back games.
The Padres will be activating Matt Waldron for his major league debut who will be filling in on Saturday to fill in for Michael Wacha (fatigue). The knuckleballer is second in the PCL with 75 punchouts but carries a 7.02 ERA.
Al was born in Fresno, California with a passion for talking and writing about sports. The lifelong Padres fan is currently attending Fresno State as he pursues a degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to being a student, he does public address announcing at both the high school and collegiate levels.