Nats serve up another slam to get swept out of San Diego (updated)

SAN DIEGO – This series between the Nationals and Padres didn’t need any more drama. Not after the extra-inning theatrics on Monday and the extracurriculars on Tuesday.

It felt like both teams got everything off their respective chests last night and could just play a regular ballgame Wednesday.

They were able to do so. Except the Nationals were searching for a victory to avoid getting swept out of San Diego and couldn’t overcome an early deficit in an 8-5 loss in front of an announced crowd of 37,397 at Petco Park.

DJ Herz was tasked with holding the Padres lineup in check after it scored a combined 16 runs over the first two games. But as in his previous start in Colorado, the rookie southpaw couldn’t get out of the fourth inning. Today marked the shortest outing of his five major league starts to date.

Kyle Higashioka snuck a two-run homer down the left field line to give the Padres a 2-0 lead in the second. Herz left an 81 mph changeup right down the middle of the plate for the catcher to smack.

Herz escaped a jam in the third, but couldn’t repeat the feat in the fourth.

A double, single and a wild pitch by Herz extended the lead to 3-0. Then a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third ahead of an RBI single by Jurickson Profar, who has been at the center of this week’s dramatics.

“I think I just got to be better at executing pitches when I'm getting ahead," Herz said after the game. "I think I'm just leaving some off-speed pitches too much middle-middle and they're taking advantage of it right now. I think just executing is the big thing.”

Needing to keep the game somewhat close, manager Davey Martinez pulled his young starter after just 3 ⅓ innings. Jacob Barnes came in and induced a double play on his first pitch to limit the damage in the fourth.

Herz's final line included six hits, four runs, two walks and one strikeout on 66 pitches, 39 strikes. His ERA is up to 5.48 and WHIP up to 1.500 in five major league starts. At only 23 years old and having pitched above Double-A for the first time this season, Herz likely has some more development to do in the minor leagues. So how many more times will the Nats run him out to start in the majors?

Even after a strong fourth rehab start yesterday (six shutout innings with four hits, one run, no walks and four strikeouts on 73 pitches with Triple-A Rochester), Josiah Gray will continue to build up his arm strength in the minors with at least one more rehab start. So he won’t be ready to come off the 15-day injured list when Herz’s turn in the rotation comes up next on Tuesday against the Mets. But whenever Gray is ready, Herz could be the odd man out and optioned back down to Rochester.

“DJ's fastball command was a little off," Martinez said. "He threw a lot more changeups because he couldn't command his fastball. But he went out and competed and gave us everything he had. Every day he goes out there it's a learning process. We'll get him back and he'll be ready to go in another five days.”

The good news for the Nats today was that Jacob Barnes (2 ⅔ innings) and Jordan Weems (one inning) had shutdown appearances out of the bullpen. Weems has now posted scoreless outings in four of his last five appearances.

Tanner Rainey, however, did not. He loaded the bases before recording an out in the eighth with a single, walk and infield single on a bunt that the right-hander couldn't field for an out. Rainey then got a strikeout and flyout to put himself one out away from escaping the jam. But he grooved a fastball to Higashioka, who hit it for his second homer of the day and the Padres’ second grand slam in as many games.

“Great. It was awesome," Martinez said of his first two releivers. "Barnes threw the ball well. Weems threw the ball well. I know Rainey, if we get an out on that bunt play, he's out of the inning. We got to complete the play.”

Although it didn’t matter who was on the mound for the Nationals because the offense was shut down by right-hander Dylan Cease.

Cease held the Nats hitless through 4 ⅔ innings, with the only baserunners being via Lane Thomas’ two walks. Nick Senzel finally broke up the no-hit bid with a single to center, but that would be the lone knock the Nats would record against the starter, who completed seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts.

“He's got really good stuff," Thomas said. "I thought we had a few good swings, but he just threw the ball where he needed to today. I was able to walk a few times. But the pitches he threw me in the zone, I took some swings at and I just didn't really do anything with them. So I thought he did well.”

“Cease was really, really good," Martinez said. "Our guys couldn't really pick up the slider. He was very effective. He had the sweeper and the slider. He had it going on today. So it was tough. A tough day offensively. Then we got him out of the game and we started swinging the bats a little bit better.”

Jacob Young led off the ninth with a walk and Nasim Nuñez collected a pinch-hit single, his first major league hit, to set up Thomas’ two-run double to avoid the shutout. Luis García Jr. followed with a two-run double and then Harold Ramírez hit an RBI single to make it a three-run game.

“It's kinda like, man, finally it found a hole and went through," Nuñez said of his first big league hit. "But (first base coach Gerardo Parra) asked me if I was happy. I was like, yeah, but it's kind of tough when we're getting blown out like that. So it's like, yeah, I'm glad I got the hit, but I really wish I would have got it when we were winning.”

"I kind of surprised Nuñez a little bit," Martinez said. "Just kind of throw him out there and he did great. He got his first hit and I loved it. But guys were staying on the ball and guys were driving the ball. So we were able to mount some runs there at the end, but we fell short.”

Indeed, it was too little too late, as the Nats were swept out of San Diego, a disappointing way for this road trip to turn.

At least there was no on-field scuffle this time. It remains to be seen if anything from this series carries over to the East Coast when these two teams meet again in D.C. in a month.

“We just got to forget about this series," Martinez said. "We got a day off in Tampa. Hope the guys enjoy it. Let's come ready to play again and have a good weekend.”