The San Diego Padres (31-24) looked to break their four-game losing streak as they went on the road to face the Washington Nationals (29-28).

The Padres are back on the road after an unimpressive 3-6 homestand. They are in the nation’s capital, facing the offense that has scored the most runs this season in the Nationals. San Diego had Lucas Giolito on the mound, hoping to quiet the Nats’ offense, while Washington had opener Paxton Schultz, followed by Andrew Alvarez in this matchup.

New series on deck. pic.twitter.com/6td6nJRCkS

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 29, 2026

Both teams’ bats get hot in the first inning

For the Padres to get their first win in four games, they need to score multiple runs and have a good pitching night. In the first inning, they succeeded at one but failed at the other. Fernando Tatis Jr and Gavin Sheets got the night started with singles; Tatis advanced to third. Next up was Xander Bogaerts, and he got the job done, bringing a run across with a sac-fly to left. SD takes the lead 1-0. That would be all San Diego got in the first. Manny Machado struck out swinging, Jackson Merrill worked a walk, and Miguel Andujar grounded into a force out at second to close the top half of the first.

But this is a stingy Nationals offense as James Wood worked a leadoff walk. Bringing up Luis Garcia, who got a hit to the left-center gap, which was cutoff by Gavin Sheets and then thrown out at second. Wood got to third on the recorded single. The hope was that with that good play to record an out, maybe Lucas Giolito could work more magic and get out of the inning unscathed.

However, Curtis Mead had other plans as he blasted a two-run shot to the left-center gap, 414 feet to take the lead. Giolito would walk CJ Abrams, get Dylan Crews to fly out, and Daylen Lile to ground out to hold the deficit to one.

MEAD ? pic.twitter.com/LpiY4x7iYj

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 29, 2026

Nationals tack on some more runs, as Padres try to chip away

Washington is living up to there postion of number one in runs as they start building on their early 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the second, after Giolito struck out Jacob Young, Keibert Ruiz launched a solo shot over the right-center wall.

This is a game where the Padres need their offense to step up and answer the bell. With one out in the third, Sheets notched another hit with an infield single. A Bogaerts groundout to short was able to get Sheets in scoring position as he was stealing on the pitch. Next up was Manny Machado, who cashed in on the RISP opportunity and got a single to right to bring in the run.

The Nationals would answer in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Giolito walked Abrams. During the at-bat with Dylan Crews, Abrams reached second on a passed ball. Crews would take advantage of the error as he singled to center to score Abrams. Washington leads 4-2. A single to Daylan Lile and a walk to Jacob Young loaded up the bases. That finished Giolito’s day in a sloppy effort that included four walks, five hits, and four earned runs. Yuki Matsui was called on to get out of the inning. He got Keibert Ruiz to fly out to right to keep the game in hand.

The Friars were able to tie it in the fourth, but Washington answered again in the fifth

San Diego is doing its best offensively to try to get a win on the road. They managed to tie it in the fourth. It all started with Miguel Andujar’s leadoff single to left field. Ramon Laureano would ground into a fielder’s choice at second, taking Andujar off the basepath. Then Ty France got a groundball single to left, which moved Laureano to third. Giving a chance for Freddy Fermin to make some noise, he was only able to ground out to shortstop, but that brought across the run to make the game 4-3. Bringing up Fernando Tatis Jr who had a hit on the day already. He managed another one, and this time an RBI came with it as he singled to left to tie the game. The Nationals were able to stop the bleeding two batters later.

Yuki Matsui was having an excellent appearance today as he worked a clean fourth. The fifth brought some problems. A leadoff single by Curtis Mead (Ramon Lauerano lost the ball in the sky) and drilling CJ Abrams in the leg started the shaky fifth. But Matsui stayed the course and got both Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile to fly out. That would do it for Matsui on the night; he is still responsible for the runners on first and second. Craig Stammen made the move to bring Jeremiah Estrada into the game, and the second pitch of his night was a single up the middle by Jacob Young to reclaim the lead for the Nationals, 5-4. He would get Keibert Ruiz to strike out swinging to close it out.

Ty France goes yard to tie things up once again, and Jackson Merrill comes up big

Once again, it’s the other guys with a huge swing of the bat in a big moment. One out in the top of the sixth, Ty France got a hold of a hanging slider and sent it over the left-center wall to tie the game. His sixth of the year.

Ty ?‍? pic.twitter.com/FpZ8DuElsS

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 30, 2026

It has been a rough start to the year for Jackson Merrill. He came up in a tie game situation, runner on first after a fielding error; Merrill had a swing that could change his whole season. A low slider, which is usually a swing-and-miss for him, finally caught a barrel, and it went a long way, 414 feet over the right field wall. A two-run home run, his fifth of the year, that got the Padres the lead.

The Kid checking in ? pic.twitter.com/9EbaLlMYvc

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 30, 2026

Bullpen tries to hold the lead to end the losing streak

The bullpen comes up big once again to help the Padres secure the win. Jeremiah Estrada went one inning and a third, giving up one hit and getting two strikeouts. Adrian Morejon did the same amount of time on the mound with two strikeouts. Jason Adam got one out and gave up two hits, which led to him being pulled for Mason Miller to get a four-out save. Miller walked James Wood to load the bases. Then, Luis Garcia Jr hit a hard line drive, but Laureano tracked it down in right. Miller would again walk a man in the ninth, but struck out two of the last three batters to get the save. San Diego breaks there four game losing streak and got back to eight games above .500.

What’s to come in Washington

The San Diego Padres (32-24) continue the three-game series on the road vs the Washington Nationals (29-29). San Diego has their ace Micheal King, on the hill to combat Washington’s Foster Griffin.

Wyatt Dearen

Hi Padres fans, I’m Wyatt Dearen. I am from Farmington, New Mexico, which is home to one of the most prestigious high school baseball tournaments in America, the Connie Mack World Series. When it comes around, I do color and statistics for the radio. I am currently pursuing a degree in Sports Administration at the University of Houston #GoCoogs. I have been a sports fan my whole life, following all the major sports leagues since I could walk, and it has been my dream my whole life to work in sports. Thankful to write about the team and for the East VillageTimes.