Jul 19, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) throws to the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images
Washington D.C. – The Padres had their chances. They just didn’t take them.
San Diego stranded the bases loaded and came up empty in a critical eighth inning, falling 4–2 to the Nationals on Saturday night in a rain-delayed game that stretched deep into the evening in Washington, D.C. The loss prevented the Friars from securing the series win early and handed Washington a much-needed victory after five straight defeats.
Yu Darvish, making just his third start of the season, looked sharper than he has all year. The veteran right-hander allowed three runs over five innings, striking out three on 69 pitches. It was another step forward in his return from the elbow inflammation that sidelined him for the first half of the year. But as has been the case too often this season, the offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
San Diego tied the game at 2-2 in the third, sparked by doubles from José Iglesias and Martín Maldonado and capped off by an RBI single from Luis Arraez. But the lineup couldn’t cash in on multiple opportunities to do more damage.
The best chance came in the fifth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Manny Machado—fresh off a grand slam the night before—stepped in against Nationals lefty Mitchell Parker. It felt like déjà vu. But Parker got the better of him this time, freezing Machado on a well-placed slider at the bottom of the zone to escape unscathed.
The eighth inning, however, was where the game slipped away for good. After a leadoff walk to Fernando Tatis Jr. and a throwing error on a bunt by Arraez, the Padres had runners at second and third with no outs. What followed was a sequence that Padres fans have seen too often this year: a strikeout from Machado, a soft comebacker by Gavin Sheets that led to a rundown and an overturned call at third, and a first-pitch flyout from Xander Bogaerts to end the inning.
Washington took the lead for good in the fifth on a CJ Abrams groundout and added insurance on Nathaniel Lowe’s solo homer in the sixth. Parker earned the win, his first at home in nearly two months, while Kyle Finnegan closed the door in the ninth for his 19th save.
The Padres (53–45) will try to bounce back and take the series on Sunday, when Nick Pivetta faces off against former Friar MacKenzie Gore. After Saturday’s frustrating loss, they’ll need sharper execution—and fewer missed chances—to get it done.
