Padres beat Nationals 1-0, win series behind Pivetta’s gem
Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Petco Park- San Diego, California
For the second straight series, the San Diego Padres lost the first game of a three-game set at home.
After dropping the first game against the Royals on Friday, the Padres came back to take the next two contests. On Wednesday, the Padres attempted the same feat after dropping Monday’s first game against the Nationals and winning on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s game started at 1:10 pm as both teams needed to catch flights out of San Diego.
Nick Pivetta and MacKenzie Gore combined on a quick game that took an hour and a half to complete the first six innings. Both men pitched as though they were double-parked in a game that had the feel of a matchup from the 1980s.
The Padres held tight to a 1-0 lead on a Luis Arraez single scoring Tyler Wade in the bottom of the second inning.
Luis Arraez hits an RBI single, scoring Tyler Wade and giving the Padres a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning#ForTheFaithful pic.twitter.com/wl0EZXvZFM
— San Diego Strong (@PadresStrong) June 25, 2025
MacKenzie Gore was solid in his return to Petco Park as the lefty went six innings, allowing five hits and one earned run. He struck out six batters and issued three walks in his 103 pitches thrown. The former Padres’ No. 1 pick lowered his ERA to 3.09 on the season. Despite the excellent effort, the lefty was charged with the loss as he received zero run support.
Pivetta was on par on Wednesday, featuring a tight fastball and devastating curve combination. He continually left Washington National hitters off-balance at the plate, striking out 10 in the game. “I thought he was fantastic. Everything was on display,” Mike Shildt said after the game.
The Padres needed to give the bullpen a rest, and Nick Pivetta did just that. The right-handed pitcher went seven innings, allowing three hits. He failed to walk a batter in the game and threw 90 pitches. “He was lights out with a clean seven,” Shild said.
Manager Mike Shildt elected to go to the bullpen as Jeremiah Estrada was summoned to pitch the eighth inning for San Diego. The right-handed pitcher went 1-2-3 on 14 pitches.
Robert Suarez was unavailable in the game as he is serving his two-game suspension for hitting Shohei Ohtani last week. With the Padres’ closer not able to pitch, the team turned to Adrian Morejon for the save. Morejon pitched a flawless inning and recorded his second save of the season in the 1-0 win. No Nationals player reached second base in the dominating win by the Padres.
The Padres are now 8-3 in rubber match games this season.
Up next for the Padres is an off-day Thursday before San Diego begins a three-game set at Cincinnati.
Dylan Cease (3-6, 4.43 ERA) will match up against Nick Martinez and the Reds (4-8, 4.40 ERA).
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.