If the Padres end up going on a World Series run, Saturday’s win over the Nationals — juxtaposed with the losses Thursday and Friday — could be the start of the championship DVD.
After closer Josh Hader melted down in the ninth in the Padres’ 6-3 loss on Friday, San Diego fans reigned a chorus of boos down on Petco Park. To add insult to injury, Juan Soto and Josh Bell — the two Nationals players the Padres acquired at the deadline — were a combined 0-for-12 in the series.
But Soto and Bell bounced back Saturday to hand the Nationals their comeuppance, each hitting solo home runs to lead the Padres to a 2-1 victory.
“It felt really good. I put in a lot of work … hopefully the next 50 at-bats are better than the first 50,” Bell told reporters after the game. His fifth-inning blast off Josiah Gray was one of the few hits he’s had in his time as a Padre.
Josh Bell’s first home run as a Padre! pic.twitter.com/xcyRKdfMuj
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 21, 2022
“It is fun playing against those guys [Nationals] over there. It’s a lot more fun now that I have gotten a hit against them. It got to the point where I felt myself pressing.”
Soto’s solo homer off reliever Steve Cishek in the seventh ended up being the game-winner.
“We really needed this win really bad to get back on track and get the team going,” Soto told reporters. “Just the way we won today, we had a lot of traffic the whole game. It is a good way to start going.”
SO(to) GONE 🚀@JuanSoto25_ | @Padres | #TimeToShine pic.twitter.com/XNC991i2mW
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) August 21, 2022
The Nationals fell to 41-81 with the loss.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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