Jun 25, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) celebrates after the Padres beat the Washington Nationals 1-0 at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
San Diego, California – In a crisp, sun-soaked Wednesday matinee, the San Diego Padres rode dominant pitching and just enough offense to a 1-0 win over the Washington Nationals, clinching the series behind a stellar outing from Nick Pivetta.
Pivetta, making just his fifth start as a Padre, delivered his finest performance yet—seven scoreless innings, 10 strikeouts, and not a single walk. Efficient and overpowering, the right-hander needed only 90 pitches to mow through the Nationals’ lineup, allowing just three hits, none of which led to a runner reaching scoring position.
“I was just getting ahead, letting the defense work,” Pivetta said after the game. “It felt good to stay in rhythm.”
The Padres scratched across the only run they’d need in the second inning. Tyler Wade drew a two-out walk and advanced on a single by Elias Díaz. Luis Arraez, batting leadoff for just the second time this season, did what he does best—lined a single to center to plate Wade. Díaz was cut down at the plate on a strong throw by Nationals center fielder Jacob Young, but the damage was done.
That RBI was part of another multi-hit game for Arraez, who went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. The three-time batting champ is heating up at just the right time for a San Diego team looking to gain ground in the NL West.
Meanwhile, former Padres top prospect MacKenzie Gore gave his old team all it could handle. The left-hander, part of the Juan Soto blockbuster in 2022, struck out six and allowed just the lone run over six innings. He lowered his ERA to a tidy 3.09 in the loss.
Gore wasn’t the only familiar face for Padres fans. Ex-Padres prospects CJ Abrams and James Wood combined to go 0-for-6 with six strikeouts, as Pivetta and the bullpen kept Washington’s young core quiet.
San Diego’s bullpen did its job to preserve the win. Jeremiah Estrada fired a clean eighth, and Adrian Morejon locked it down in the ninth for his second save. The Padres were without closer Robert Suarez, who served the first game of a two-game suspension stemming from his ejection for hitting Shohei Ohtani last week.
With the win, the Padres improved to 7-3 in their last 10 games and gained some much-needed momentum heading into a six-game road trip against the Reds and Phillies.
Sometimes, one run is all you need.
