Padres vs Nationals Recap: Padres fall 2-4 in Sunday clash

The Padres arrived at Nationals Park still stinging from Saturday's loss. San Diego dropped that game 9-4 after the Nationals exploded with seven runs in the seventh inning. Now they faced another tough matchup on Sunday. Zack Littell took the mound for Washington, and the Nationals wasted no time attacking. In the fourth inning, Luis Garcia Jr. crushed a 93-mph fastball deep to center field. The ball soared 402 feet before landing beyond the fence. One batter later, James Wood stepped up with Keibert Ruiz on base. Wood unleashed his power on a 90-mph cutter, sending it 417 feet into the stands. Washington jumped out to a 3-0 lead fast. The Padres' bats stayed quiet early.

San Diego finally woke up in the seventh inning. Ty France started things rolling with a double down the left field line. His hit drove in Xander Bogaerts from second base. Jackson Merrill moved to third base on the play. Nick Castellanos stepped up next and launched a sacrifice fly toward center field. Merrill tagged up and sprinted home. The Padres scored two runs to cut Washington's lead to 3-2. Castellanos proved why he's a pro hitter in key moments. The Padres stayed alive in the game. But Washington held firm and refused to let San Diego take control. The home team still owned the advantage heading into the final innings.

Washington answered right back in their half of the seventh. Adrian Morejon came in to pitch for San Diego. Andres Chaparro stepped to the plate with two outs. He drove a 92-mph changeup hard to left field. The ball dropped for a double. One run scored off that hit. James Wood advanced to third base. That run gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead. The Padres never caught up after that. Zack Littell pitched strong for Washington, striking out five batters over six innings. Clayton Beeter closed out the final inning for the save. Washington held on for the 4-2 victory. The Nationals improved to 31-29 on the season. San Diego fell to 32-26 with the loss.