Washington had plenty working against it even before a 3-2 Labor Day setback in San Diego.
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For the Washington Nationals’ latest loss — Monday’s 3-2 defeat at the San Diego Padres, in which they played sloppily with few signs of life — there were at least plenty of excuses.
The Nationals were coming off a late night. The first pitch of Sunday’s series finale at the Dodgers came at 7:10 p.m. Pacific time, and it took nearly three hours for Los Angeles to complete the sweep. Then Washington had to make the journey down the coast, not reaching San Diego until the early hours of Monday. Most players got only a few hours of sleep before the Labor Day matinee.
The Nationals also watched another bullpen arm go on the injured list. Orlando Ribalta, who has developed into one of their most reliable relievers, underwent an MRI exam for forearm tightness. The results aren’t in yet, but with a heightened level of concern, Washington decided to play it safe and call up Yovanny Cruz.
So while the Padres continued their fight for a National League wild-card spot, the Nationals dropped their fifth straight game. This time, at least, it wasn’t the bullpen’s fault.
Jake Irvin labored in the first inning, and a lackluster defense behind him didn’t help, either. James Wood lost a two-out flyball in the sun, and Manny Machado reached second on the mistake. Irvin then walked Ty France and gave up an RBI single to Jackson Merrill but was able to limit the damage, striking out Luis Campusano on his 30th pitch.
Irvin retired the side on 10 pitches in the second inning, but the Padres got to him again in the third. After Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a single, Jake Cronenworth reached on a fielder’s choice. Jorbit Vivas fielded the high chopper at second and flipped it to CJ Abrams a beat too late, and though Tatis was called out, the Padres successfully challenged.
Machado followed with a single to bring Tatis home, and the Padres made it 3-0 on another hit from Merrill.
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Irvin allowed a pair of hits but kept San Diego off the scoreboard over the next two innings. In the sixth, Dylan Crews crushed a two-run homer to get the Nationals within one.
“Obviously a big spot in the game right there. A two-run shot gets us back in there and cuts it to a one-run deficit and gives us a chance to win the ballgame,” Manager Blake Butera told reporters. “It’s huge.”
That made what Irvin did in the sixth inning, and Butera’s decision-making, all the more important. After getting the first two outs, Irvin walked Xander Bogaerts.
Butera came out to retrieve his starter, and while Irvin tried to challenge the decision, Butera stuck with it and put in Jared Simpson for his second major league appearance. It paid off: The left-hander got pinch hitter Austin Hays to line out, keeping the score 3-2.
“A lot of times we see that where the other team scores a handful of runs early in the game, and it feels like [Irvin] finishes in a pretty good spot,” Butera told reporters. “Hopefully he’s taking the positives from this one, just the ability he had after the third inning to shut them down the rest of the way and keep us in the game was huge.”
That’s where the score would stay the rest of the game, because even though Simpson and fellow rookie Jack Sinclair did their jobs, the offense was largely listless. Nick Pivetta, making his first start since April, shut Washington down for five innings, and after Crews took Kyle Hart deep, three other San Diego relievers closed the door.
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