The Padres fought back two separate times to come from behind and beat the Nationals 7-5 on Friday. Xander Bogaerts gave the Padres an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning on a sac-fly, but the Nationals' Curtis Mead's 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st put the Nats on top. Keibert Ruiz hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and the two teams each scored a run in the 3rd inning. Lucas Giolito struggled with his command, lasting just 2.2 innings while allowing four earned runs on five hits and four walks, forcing Craig Stammen to turn to his bullpen early to stay within reach of the Nationals. Trailing by two runs in the 4th inning, the Padres tied the game on Fernando Tatis Jr.'s two-out RBI-single. Jacob Young put Washington back on top again with an RBI-single in the 5th inning, but Ty France answered with a game-tying solo homer in the top of the 6th inning. Jackson Merrill then put the Padres back on top for the first time since the top of the 1st inning with a two-out 2-run homer, giving the Padres a 7-5 lead. Washington threatened the Padres in the 8th inning, getting two singles off of Jason Adam. With two outs and runners at second and third and James Wood at the plate, Craig Stammen brought in his closer Mason Miller, who proceeded to walk Wood to load the bases for Luis Garcia, who would hit a sharp line drive to left field that Ramon Laureano made a tremendous catch on to strand all three baserunners and hold the Padres' lead. Miller then issued a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 9th, bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs, but retired the next three hitters in a row to earn the 4-out save. Michael King will get the start for the Padres on Saturday.
You can watch the Jamul Casino Resort Padres Postgame Show below, with full highlights from the game and Craig Stammen's postgame press conference.
