Schimpf's shot leads Padres over Nats

WASHINGTON -- After scoring a combined one run in their past two games this series, the Padres matched a season high with 14 hits on Sunday to defeat the Nationals, 5-3, for their lone win of the three-game set.
San Diego's offense, which entered the game with the worst batting average in baseball, picked up a bullpen that threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the talented Nationals offense, after starter Jhoulys Chacín allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings.
"You come back and you try to put good at-bats against a good lineup today and against Joe Ross, who's a good pitcher," Padres manager Andy Green said. "You walk away from a road trip and you're 3-3 and you're facing the first-place team in the NL East -- that's a pretty good road trip."
Ryan Schimpf hit his second home run of the series in the first inning, and after Chacin knocked an RBI single the following frame, Chase d'Arnaud drove in two runs in the fifth. Friars center fielder Franchy Cordero recorded the first two hits of his career and scored the club's fifth run in his first Major League start.

"Franchy Cordero was exciting to see," Green said. "You get a young guy in the lineup who hits two balls really hard, gets his first big league hit. Those are moments you never forget as a manager, as a player. He was a spark plug for us."

Five days after Ross' best start of the season -- when he gave up one run in eight innings to the Mariners -- the right-hander struggled with the command of his slider as the Padres notched five runs and 12 hits off him in four innings. In their past six games entering Sunday, the Nationals starters averaged a 1.44 ERA, but Ross has failed to put together consecutive strong outings this season.

The Nationals scored double-digit runs in each of Ross' previous four starts this year, but they couldn't take advantage of a strong outing from their bullpen with four regulars -- Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, Matt Wieters and Jayson Werth -- out of the starting lineup.
"They got off to a good start, and we just played catch-up the rest of the day," said Brian Goodwin, who went 2-for-4 as Harper's replacement. "We really hit the ball well, we just didn't have the results to show for it. Ultimately, we just ran out of time at the end."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Schimpf dials long distance: After homering Friday night off Nationals ace Max Scherzer, the Padres' third baseman wasted no time getting his club on the board in the series finale. Schimpf ripped Ross' 1-2 slider inside the right-field foul pole and into the Nationals' bullpen for his 13th home run of the season. Remarkably, 13 of Schimpf's 24 hits on the year have cleared the outfield wall.
d'Arnaud dazzles at short: With Anthony Rendon on second base and the Nationals down by two in the seventh, Ryan Zimmerman hit a laser into the hole in between third and shortstop. d'Arnaud took two steps to his right before laying out full-extension, snaring the ball off one bounce and firing to first base from his knees. Padres first baseman Wil Myers made a beautiful scoop on the back end of the play to record the out. The sensational stop kept Rendon stranded at third, as Michael A. Taylor struck out to end the inning following Adam Lind's walk. More >

TAYLOR'S TERRIFIC GRAB
The 26-year-old Taylor has been at the center of attention this series, crushing home runs in the previous two nights. On Sunday, he took the spotlight with his glove work. With one out in the top of the sixth, Myers laced a 98-mph rocket into left-center field. Taylor got a great jump, racing over to the gap to make a spectacular catch and rob Myers of extra bases.
The Nats' center fielder covered 79 feet on the play and had an opportunity time of 4.4 seconds, giving Taylor his second five-star grab of the season, per Statcast™. He had been 1-for-7 on such opportunities, entering Sunday.

QUOTABLE
"He's got every opportunity to pinch-hit whoever he wants there. He's got [Jose] Lobaton, he's got the pitcher's spot, he's got Murphy and Harper on the bench. That probably keeps that group of hitters that we saw there and you know in the ninth, you know he's going to use one of them in the two-hole there and somebody's got to get one of those guys out. Heck of an at-bat Daniel Murphy put on Brandon Maurer, but good thing we've got seven strategically-placed defenders out there sometimes. -- Green, on if he had Harper in mind when determining which relievers to use late in the game
"He just goes out there and battles. He's a bulldog, and he's a guy you really trust and really want to play behind because you know he's going to give it everything he has. We expect him to come back next game and be even better." -- Goodwin, on Ross
REPLAY REVIEW
After driving in his first runs as a Padre, d'Arnaud attempted to steal his second base in a San Diego uniform. Nationals second baseman Wilmer Difo applied the tag on d'Arnaud's arm as he dove into the bag, and the runner was initially called out. But Green elected to challenge the call, and after a replay review that lasted two minutes and 18 seconds, the call was overturned.
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: San Diego flies cross-country to host the Cubs at Petco Park for a 1:40 p.m. PT start. on Monday Right-hander Jarred Cosart, limited to four starts this season because of a hamstring strain, has faced the Cubs once in his career, allowing seven earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Nationals: Washington begins its nine-game California road trip on Monday against the Giants at 4:05 p.m. ET. Tanner Roark will take the mound after perhaps his best start of the season Wednesday, when he allowed one run and struck out eight in seven innings.
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