Washington Nationals’ lineup for 2nd of 3 with the San Diego Padres in D.C.

If you’re looking for positives to pull out of last night’s 24-8 loss to the San Diego Padres, it is pretty easy, because there weren’t many bright spots for the Washington Nationals.

Juan Soto’s four-hit, two-home run game, yes, and, as manager Davey Martinez said, the team’s eight runs overall, were small things to take away from an overall disappointing day.

“We came back off a break,” Martinez said after the first game of the so-called second half of the 2021 campaign, “things didn’t go our way, walked a lot of guys, behind a lot of hitters, the positive is we scored a bunch of runs. So, we got [Patrick] Corbin tomorrow on the mound, let’s come back tomorrow, he gives us six or seven innings, score the same amount of runs, and come out with a victory tomorrow.”

Soto picked up where he left off before the All-Star break (and at the HR Derby), with the 22-year-old slugger’s four-hit game, (in which he launched two home runs, a 407-foot, three-run blast to right field in the bottom of the first, and a 427-foot solo homer to right-center in the seventh), his fourth multi-hit game in the last seven.

“He looked great,” Martinez said after the game. “I mean, like I said, he’s been hitting the ball well, he got some balls up in the air today, I really liked the at bats. two-strike at bat that he had, roped the ball to left-center field there, when he’s doing that I know good things are to come, so he had a great day. I know that he’s happy he had the day, but he’s also upset that we didn’t win the game, that’s the kind of player he is, so I hope he has the same day tomorrow and we have the lead going into the ninth inning and we can finish it off.”

In his last 30 games, Soto is now 35 for 108 (.324/.417/.509) with five doubles, five homers, 18 walks, and 20 Ks in 127 plate appearances over that stretch, which has taken him from a .272/.410/.450 line on June 12th to .292/.412/.473 on the season after last night.

Soto did, however, also ground into his 14th double play in 80 games and 337 PAs in 2021, which is two more than he grounded into in 197 games and 855 PAs in 2019-20 combined, with the 14 GIDPs this season tied for the most in the majors this year. So #elevationwatch continues...

Sorry, we could stay all positive coming off a 24-8 loss.

NOTE: Victor Robles left last night’s game feeling dizzy and nauseated.

“He got dizzy out in the field, and precautionary measures, I didn’t want him out there, he said he felt real dizzy,” Martinez said after the game.

Was it just the heat and humidity on a warm night in the nation’s capital?

“I think it’s a heat thing or maybe that he didn’t drink enough to hydrate,” the manager said.

“But it is — when somebody says they’re very dizzy and they feel like their stomach is nauseated, I can’t leave him in the game, he’s got to get checked out.”

Is Robles back in? Will Soto keep swinging it in a winning effort? Will Corbin’s second half get off to a better start than his first half did?

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 2ND OF 3 WITH THE PADRES: