Lauer's long outing a silver lining in loss

SAN DIEGO -- On the surface, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about Eric Lauer's efforts Saturday night.

The Padres left-hander didn't beat the Nationals. Max Scherzer was simply too dominant. Lauer allowed four runs (three earned) over seven innings, and the San Diego offense didn't put up much of a fight in a 4-1 defeat.

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In one critical aspect, however, Lauer gave the Padres precisely what they needed.

Realistically, Lauer probably isn’t destined to become a front-line starting pitcher. But he’s quickly becoming one of the most reliable arms on the Padres’ staff. Even in a loss Saturday night, Lauer’s seven-inning effort could prove hugely valuable for the rest of the series.

“You can help your team for more than just that game,” Lauer said. “Sometimes as a starting pitcher, it's tough to make an impact on multiple games. That's the reason we want to stay in the game, so that if something happens or if we're scheduled for a heavy bullpen day, they're able to do that.”

Indeed, Lauer’s steadiness allowed manager Andy Green to count on his bullpen for the final 5 1/3 innings on Friday night. On Sunday, Green is going to ask his ‘pen to eat all nine frames, with Luis Perdomo getting the ball first.

“We've got everybody available tomorrow,” Green said. “That's ultimately where you want to be going into a bullpen day. ... That was huge for us today to be able to keep everybody in play for tomorrow.”

Lauer was no Scherzer, of course. The Nationals ace was excellent on Saturday night, working seven scoreless frames while striking out nine Padres. San Diego threatened only once, putting the first two men aboard in the second inning.

Rookie Josh Naylor proceeded to hit a 106 mph rocket off Scherzer’s foot. Scherzer bolted forward, picked it up and fired to first for the out. The Padres wouldn’t score in the inning, and Scherzer was lights-out after that.

“If you don't draw blood, sometimes you end up struggling to find a run against a guy like that,” Green said.

Lauer was as efficient as Scherzer. Both needed 101 pitches to get through seven innings. But the Padres left-hander allowed three singles in the first, which gave the Nats a 1-0 lead. Then, he grooved a fastball to Brian Dozier in the fourth inning, and Dozier hit a two-run bomb.

“I felt like we were in the game the whole time,” said Lauer, who was mostly solid after that. “There was never a point where it was a struggle to get out of an inning or a struggle to work through it.”

The Padres scored their only run in the ninth, when Austin Allen drove in rookie Naylor with an RBI single. They even forced the Nationals to use closer Sean Doolittle for a second consecutive night.

But Doolittle needed just one pitch to get pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis Jr. to pop out in foul ground. (Tatis was given a day to rest after playing consecutive nights in his return from a left hamstring strain.)

Ultimately, Lauer was saddled with the loss, and his seven-inning effort had gone for naught. But if the bullpen shines on Sunday, and if the Padres take three of four from Washington to cap their 10-game homestand, Lauer will have played no small part in the series victory.