Padres Erase Three-Run Deficit, Rally Past Nationals 5-4 at Petco Park

The San Diego Padres looked headed toward a frustrating home loss Tuesday night before an explosive eighth-inning rally completely changed the game. San Diego erased a 4-1 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the eighth and defeated the Washington Nationals, 5-4, on Sept. 8 at Petco Park. The comeback improved the Padres to 77-68 as they continued their push for a National League wild-card berth.

For most of the night, Washington’s pitching staff kept the Padres’ offense under control. Riley Cornelio opened the game with three perfect innings, striking out four, before the Nationals turned the game over to their bullpen. San Diego struggled to generate traffic on the bases through the middle innings, allowing Washington to gradually build a three-run advantage.

The Nationals struck first in the second inning when Yohandy Morales connected against Padres starter Casey Mize. Morales drove a fastball over the left-field wall for a solo home run, giving Washington a 1-0 lead. Mize settled down afterward, but the Padres’ offense was unable to provide him with immediate run support.

Washington extended its lead in the sixth. CJ Abrams drew a walk and Abimelec Ortiz reached base before Brady House came to the plate with two outs. House delivered a two-run double into right-center field, scoring both runners and putting the Nationals ahead 3-0.

Despite the deficit, Mize kept San Diego within striking distance. He worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits while striking out seven and walking one. It was not enough to put him in position for a victory, but his ability to prevent Washington from breaking the game open became important once the Padres finally found their offense.

San Diego began chipping away in the seventh. Manny Machado reached base and eventually scored when Jackson Merrill lifted a sacrifice fly, trimming Washington’s advantage to 3-1. The run finally gave the Petco Park crowd something to build on, but Washington responded almost immediately.

Andrés Chaparro came off the bench in the eighth and launched a solo home run, pushing Washington’s advantage back to three runs at 4-1. With only six outs remaining, San Diego suddenly needed its biggest rally of the night. The Padres delivered one.

Washington reliever Jared Simpson opened the bottom of the eighth by walking Xander Bogaerts, Freddy Fermin and Fernando Tatis Jr. consecutively. Three straight free passes loaded the bases without an out and completely changed the atmosphere at Petco Park. The Padres had gone from struggling to produce offense to bringing the heart of their lineup to the plate with the tying run on base.

Austin Hays started the scoring with a sacrifice fly that brought Bogaerts home and cut Washington’s lead to 4-2. Machado then stepped to the plate representing the tying run and worked an eight-pitch battle against Nationals reliever Erik Tolman. Machado eventually won it, driving a two-run single up the middle that scored Fermin and Tatis and tied the game at four.

San Diego was not finished. Ty France followed with a single, moving Machado into scoring position and maintaining the pressure on Washington’s bullpen. Luis Campusano then delivered the decisive hit, dropping a broken-bat RBI single into the outfield that allowed Machado to score and gave the Padres their first lead of the night, 5-4.

The four-run inning demonstrated exactly what makes San Diego dangerous in September. The Padres did not need one massive swing to erase the deficit. They accepted three walks, produced a sacrifice fly, put the ball in play and allowed Machado and Campusano to deliver with runners in scoring position.

After completing the comeback, San Diego still needed three outs. Adrián Morejón received the ninth inning with closer Mason Miller unavailable and retired the Nationals in order to secure the victory. Morejón recorded his third save, while David Morgan earned the win after recording the final out of the top of the eighth.

Machado once again found himself in the middle of the Padres’ biggest moments. He scored San Diego’s first run, drove home two runs to tie the game and then scored the eventual winning run on Campusano’s single. In a game where the Padres’ offense spent most of the night searching for answers, Machado helped turn one opportunity into a victory.

The Padres finished with six hits, but the eighth inning showed why simply counting hits does not always explain an offense’s performance. San Diego forced Washington’s bullpen to throw strikes, took advantage when those strikes never came and eventually turned three consecutive walks into the foundation of a four-run comeback. Against a Nationals club trying to protect a late lead, the Padres never gave away an at-bat once the door opened.

San Diego’s victory also carried considerable importance beyond one dramatic night at Petco Park. The Padres improved to 77-68 and remained in the thick of the National League postseason race as the regular season moved deeper into September. Every game becomes increasingly valuable at this point, and turning a likely loss into a victory could prove significant when the final wild-card standings are settled.

For seven innings, Tuesday looked like a missed opportunity. By the end of the eighth, it looked like the kind of comeback a postseason contender remembers. The Padres showed patience, veteran leadership and the ability to capitalize on an opponent’s mistakes, turning a three-run deficit into another critical September victory.

CSB Take

This is exactly the type of game the Padres need to win if they want to play postseason baseball. San Diego did very little offensively for most of the night and trailed 4-1 with six outs remaining, but the Padres never allowed the game to get away from them. Once Washington’s bullpen opened the door with three straight walks, San Diego attacked the opportunity and did not let the Nationals escape.

Machado remains the centerpiece of this team, and Tuesday provided another example of why. His two-run single tied the game, but his overall eighth inning was just as important because he eventually scored the winning run. When the Padres needed their veteran star in a critical September situation, Machado delivered.

There is also something encouraging about winning without relying exclusively on home runs. Hays produced a sacrifice fly, Machado put a ball through the middle and Campusano fought off a pitch well enough to drop a broken-bat single into the outfield. September baseball frequently comes down to those types of at-bats, and the Padres found a way to manufacture four runs when their season desperately needed them.

San Diego still has work to do, but a 5-4 comeback like this can provide momentum well beyond one night. The Padres were six outs away from a disappointing loss and instead walked off the field with another victory in the middle of a playoff race. For California Sports Blog, this was the story of the night: the Padres were down, but they were never out.