Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres

San Diego beat Washington 9-2 at Petco Park behind a historic offensive performance from Jackson Merrill. The Padres center fielder went 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI, pacing a lineup that broke open a tie game in the third inning and never looked back. Kyle Hart earned the win. Walker Buehler worked through four strikeouts for San Diego. Jackson Kent took the loss for Washington, recording just two punchouts before exiting. He also committed a throwing error in the fourth that allowed a run to score on a bunt single. Merrill did most of his damage in the middle innings. He tripled home two in the third to give San Diego a 3-2 lead, then launched a two-run shot in the fifth and a solo blast in the seventh to push his season total to 24 home runs. Ty France added three hits and scored twice. Keibert Ruiz homered in the third for Washington's only real offensive highlight. The NRFI model projected a lean toward no run in the first, but the inning produced scoring. Kent logged two strikeouts against a model projection that expected more, while Buehler finished with four. Merrill's triple in the third came on a ball deflected by center fielder Jacob Young, and the Padres never trailed after that frame.