Hader Blows Tied Game In Padres' Loss Against Nationals

A quiet night offensively for the Padres came to bite them late in the game as the Nationals took advantage of the Padres low scoring affair along with Hader and his struggles continuing.

We might as well refer the Padres offense as 'Manny Machado' since our captain has been carried the majority of this offense since early August and of course, most of the 2022 season. It is great to see as it has easily put Machado in the MVP conversation. However, Machado doing this all alone has been a problem for the team and its overall potential with the bats.

The Friars could not take advantage of Anibal Sanchez this time around. Back in D.C., the offense got Sanchez to surrender three runs and three walks in six innings. Sanchez this time was brilliant by only allowing a solo home run from his dad Manny Machado. The Nats bullpen did the rest of its job in holding the Friars to one run. Frustrating.

Hader, who has not pitched in nine days, blew the lead and deflated Darvish's great performance. Darvish lasted 8.1 innings with six punchies. However, Ildemaro Vargas hit a solo home run as well to give the Nats the lead at the time early in the third inning. As for Hader who in his last outing struggled and blew a lead against the Giants, did not do well yet again. Coming in with back-to-back singles by Darvish, Hader was put in a tough spot with one out. Former Padre Luke Voit came up to the plate and got hit on a slider that was way off the moment it left his hand. With Nelson Cruz batting right after, Hader gave up the 1-1 tie as Cruz worked a walk. Catcher Keibert Ruiz moments later had himself a sacrifice fly that put a comfortable cushion for the Nationals heading into the final three outs.

With one out, the Padres made some noise with back-to-back walks done by Kim and Myers. However, after a mound visit to calm down Kyle Finnegan, he was able to get Profar to ground into a double play to end the ball game. A tough loss that was very embarrassing. It happens, yes. But these crucial losses are becoming more critical down the line as September is right around the corner.