Washington Nationals 15-5 over San Diego Padres: Juan Soto hits 3-run blast in 1st to spark club...

Juan Soto hit a three-run home run in the third at bat of tonight’s game with the San Diego Padres in Petco Park, and the visiting Washington Nationals kept on scoring runs, 10 in the first four innings, and 15 total on 17 hits, cruising to a 15-5 win over the NL West’s 3rd-place Friars.

Patrick Corbin gave up two runs in six innings of work, and the Nats earned at least a split of the four-game set heading into Thursday night’s series finale...

Corbin vs the Padres: After back-to-back wins in which he gave up 12 hits and three runs in 14 ¹⁄₃ innings (1.88 ERA), walking two and striking out 14, Patrick Corbin suffered back-to-back losses in his last two outings before tonight, giving up 13 hits and nine runs, eight earned, in 10 ²⁄₃ IP (6.75 ERA), while walking one and striking out eight.

It’s been up and down all season for the left-hander, but he took the mound with a 3-0 lead in the third of four with the Padres in Petco, and wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, after Juan Soto’s blast gave him a 3-run lead to work with before he got on the hill.

Corbin returned to the mound with a 7-0 lead, and he worked around a leadoff hit-by-pitch, in the second, and it was 9-0 in the third when he stranded a two-out single, completing his third scoreless frame on 61 pitches, and it was 10-0 before an 11-pitch fourth inning for the left-hander, in which he worked around a leadoff single, leaving him at 72 total on the night.

Corbin finally gave up a run in the fifth, with Tommy Pham doubling to left to start the frame and scoring two outs later on a Manny Machado single to left-center, 10-1.

It was 10-2 Nationals after Eric Hosmer hit a first-pitch slider out to right-center for a leadoff blast in the bottom of the sixth, but he held it there, and was up to 106 pitches after getting through a 16-pitch frame that ended his outing...

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks, 1 HR, 106 P, 66 S, 7/2 GO/FO.

Paddack vs the Nationals: Unbeaten in four starts going into tonight’s outing, with San Diego 3-1 in those appearances, Padres’ righty Chris Paddack, who had a 5.31 ERA, four walks, 27 Ks, and a .289/.322/.398 line against in 20 ¹⁄₃ IP over that stretch, was in a hole early tonight in the 3rd of 4 with the Nationals in Petco Park, after he hit Alcides Escobar, gave up a single by Trea Turner, and surrendered a three-run home run on a first-pitch fastball to Juan Soto that went out to left-center for Soto’s 11th of the year and a 3-0 Nats’ lead in the top of the first. Second oppo shot in two days for Soto.

Escobar and Turner singled in front of Soto again in the second, with two down. Paddack walked Soto intentionally after falling behind, 3-0, so Josh Bell stepped in with the bases loaded and two out, and lined a 95 MPH 3-2 fastball through the left side to drive two runs in and make it a 5-0 lead, and a two-run single by Starlin Castro made it a 7-0 game.

Josh Harrison singled and scored on a double by Victor Robles in the top of the third, 8-0, and an error on a Patrick Corbin bunt ended Paddack’s outing...

Chris Paddack’s Line: 2.0 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks, 1 HR, 75 P, 47 S, 3/2 GO/FO.

CastrOBP: Starlin Castro started the night with a nine-game hit streak, going 13 for 29 (.448 AVG) over that stretch, with two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs, five walks, and six runs scored, and the Nationals’ third baseman had multi-hit efforts in four of the nine games.

Castro singled in his second at bat tonight, driving in two runs and extending his hit streak to 10-straight games, and a one-out double in the fourth gave him multi-hit games in 5 of 10.

Bullpen Action: Nabill Crismatt took over for the Padres in the third, with runners on the corners and one out, and got a force at second base on an Alcides Escobar grounder to second on which another run scored, 9-0, but kept it there.

Starlin Castro doubled off Crismatt with one out in the fourth, and he scored on an RBI single by Josh Harrison, 10-0.

Crismatt tossed the first scoreless inning of the night for the Padres in the fifth, stranding Juan Soto after a two-out walk.

Josh Harrison walked with two out in in the top of the sixth, but he was stranded at the end of Crismatt’s fourth inning in relief, and he came back out and completed a fifth inning in a long relief appearance.

Kyle McGowin came on for the Nationals in the bottom of the seventh inning and tossed a scoreless, 19-pitch frame, stranding a two-out walk.

Nick Ramirez gave up back-to-back singles by Juan Soto and Josh Bell in the seventh, and a one-out double by Yan Gomes drove Soto in to make it 11-2 in the Nationals’ favor, and Josh Harrison drove Bell and Gomes in with a double to left field, 13-2, and Harrison scored on a grounder through the left side by Gerardo Parra, 14-2.

Yadiel Hernández reached on an error with one out in the ninth, took third on a Josh Bell double, and scores on a Starlin Castro groundout, 15-2.

McGowin came back out in the ninth and gave up a two-out, two-run home run by Trent Grisham, 15-4, and a double ended his outing after 48 pitches.

Jefry Rodriguez came on with a runner on second and two outs, and gave up an infield single by Wil Myers on a comebacker that caught the back of his right cleat, and with two on and two out, Victor Caratini hit an RBI single to left, 15-5.

That’s how it ended. Ballgame.

Final Score: 15-5 Nationals

Nationals now 42-43