Nats are quiet at plate in quick shutout loss to Padres (updated)

After a weekend sweep of the Reds that included a series of notable rallies and some long-awaited power displays from a lineup that desperately needed it, the Nationals returned tonight to face the Padres hoping for at least some carryover effect.

Instead, they got the exact opposite. During the course of a lackluster 4-0 loss, they did very little at the plate, squandering the scoring opportunities they had and rarely hitting the ball with any real authority.

Thus did the Nats lose for the first time since the All-Star break, missing a chance to sustain some positive momentum with a tepid showing at the plate against an unheralded opposing pitcher.

Randy Vasquez, a 25-year-old right-hander who has given up a bunch of hits – especially homers – this season, combined with three San Diego relievers to shut out the Nationals on only 102 pitches.

"We hit some balls hard, but we just couldn't get any good swings off," manager Davey Martinez said. "We swung the bats today, but we really didn't work good at-bats."

That made a loser out of DJ Herz, who made only two mistakes in his return to D.C. after a two-week demotion to Rochester designed to give the rookie an extended break but got no help from his teammates along the way. A pair of runs surrendered by relievers Derek Law and Jacob Barnes added to the deficit.

If there was any fear the extra layoff would leave Herz a bit rusty, there was no evidence of that tonight. He cruised through his first two innings, retiring all six batters faced (two via strikeout) on only 22 pitches. He got ahead in the count, then effectively used his fastball-slider combo to put hitters away.

The Padres started putting runners on base in the third and fourth, but Herz got out of those jams thanks to a double play grounder and a big strikeout of National League Rookie of the Year candidate Jackson Merrill to strand the bases loaded. He hopped off the mound and clapped his hands together after the Merrill strikeout, having just posted his fourth consecutive zero to begin the night.

"I was happy, especially with the long rest," the 23-year-old said. "I just wanted to be sharp today. I pounded the zone, got ahead. I'm happy with how it went."

And then came the fifth, at which point the Padres got to Herz not via sustained rally but two big blasts in rapid succession from a couple of guys who were front-and-center during San Diego’s sweep last month on the West Coast.

Luis Arraez thought he was hit by an up-and-in fastball with two outs in the fifth, but third base umpire Junior Valentine ruled he swung on the pitch, continuing the at-bat. He responded by blasting a subsequent slider from Herz to right for a solo homer. Only a few seconds had passed before Jurickson Profar launched Herz’s first-pitch changeup to left to make it 2-0, then enjoyed his trip around the bases having done it again to a Nationals team that couldn’t get him out in crucial situations at Petco Park.

"Arraez hit a really good pitch," Herz said. "It wasn't supposed to be up, but it was still in the quadrant I wanted to hit. And then Profar took advantage of me getting ahead early and he swung his guts out. Good for them. It happens."

Herz’s night would come to an end at the end of the fifth. His pitch count was only 79, but the Nats are likely to err on the side of caution the rest of the season as they carefully watch the rookie’s workload.

"Gave up two homers, but other than that he was really, really good," Martinez said. "He was attacking the zone. His stuff was good."

Under normal circumstances, two runs allowed over five innings could have been enough to qualify for the win. In this case, it put Herz squarely in line for the loss because his teammates couldn’t do anything against the Padres’ starter.

Vasquez, who had never previously faced the Nationals, entered with pedestrian numbers: a 4.57 ERA, 1.556 WHIP and 11.9 hits surrendered per nine innings. Perhaps most notable, though, was his tendency to be inefficient. The right-hander averaged 17.6 pitches per inning, and averaged only 4.8 innings per start.

And how did the Nats fare against that backdrop tonight? When he walked off the mound at the end of the fifth, Vasquez had not only not allowed a run, he had thrown a grand total of only 50 pitches in the process, taking full advantage of an overzealous lineup that swung at almost everything and usually made outs as a result.

"I guess you know he's going to throw strikes," first baseman Juan Yepez said of Vasquez, who threw 47 of his 68 total pitches for strikes. "Maybe just take one."

Not that the Nationals didn’t give themselves chances to score, good chances as a matter of fact. They got a leadoff double from Trey Lipscomb in the third and looked poised to take the lead. But Jacob Young sacrifice bunted Lipscomb to third, and then CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas each popped up to bring that rally to a screeching halt.

"We want to get ahead," Martinez said of the bunt attempt in a scoreless game. "We want to put pressure on the other team. I think it was a great spot for Jacob to bunt there. That's what he does. Got the guy over with our top two hitters in our lineup up there. Just couldn't get the job done."

The Nats also got a leadoff double from Yepez to open the seventh, extending his hit streak to 14 games since he was called up from Triple-A Rochester. And this one knocked Vasquez from the game, even though his pitch count remained a very modest 68. But Yepez would run himself into an out on James Wood’s grounder to short, and Keibert Ruiz would follow with a 5-4-3 double play on the very next pitch.

"We've been swinging the bats really well," Martinez said. "Let's forget about today and come back and be ready to go tomorrow."