by Manny Machado’s grand slam capped a five-run ninth inning to power the
Padres
past the Nationals 7-2 on Friday.
Jake Cronenworth singled leading off the ninth against Kyle Finnegan (1-4) and, running on the pitch, went to third on a single by Jose Iglesias – to the spot
just
vacated by second baseman Luis García Jr.
But small ball gave the Friars the lead. Elias Díaz executed his second safety squeeze of the game, scoring Cronenworth to put San Diego up 3-2.
A single by Fernando Tatis Jr. and a walk to Luis Arraez loaded the bases for Machado, who put it out of reach for Washington, homering into the Padres bullpen in left-center.
CJ Abrams had tied it 2-all with a two-run homer off reliever Jason Adams with one out in the eighth.
Xander Bogaerts had two hits and scored a run for the Padres, who have won four of five. The Nationals, though, have lost five straight and nine of 10.
The last time Dylan Cease pitched at Nationals Park he threw a no-hitter.
Tonight he has 10 Ks through 5 innings 🔥
pic.twitter.com/YJ9Ch4ff8N
Wandy Peralta (4-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win. Dylan Cease, who pitched a no-hitter in Washington last July, went 5 1/3 innings for the Padres.
He gave up four singles and struck out 10 without a walk.
From Cease’s performance to the ninth-inning rally, manager Mike Shildt couldn’t have been happier – and the Friars gained a game on the division-leading Dodgers too.
“A lot of good things to unpack in that game,” Shildt told
MLB.com
.
As for Machado, even his teammates are impressed. Cease was watching the All-Star’s at-bat in the clubhouse.
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“I was in the training room,” he told MLB. “Yeah, it was pretty sick … We just freaked out, we’re like, ‘when he’s up there, it almost feels kind of inevitable.’”
The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the second when Jackson Merrill singled and scored on Cronenworth’s sacrifice fly.
In the San Diego sixth, Bogaerts led off with a bloop double, went to third on a bunt single by Cronenworth and scored on a squeeze bunt by Díaz to make it 2-0.
Yu Darvish (0-1, 6.48 ERA) makes his third start at 3:45 p.m. Saturday since returning from the injured list. He will be opposed by Nationals’ Mitchell Parker (5-10, 5.12).
