Machado's Two-Run Single Caps Four-Run Eighth, SD Walks Off

Washington led 4-1 heading into the eighth inning and still lost. San Diego scored four times in the final frame to steal a 5-4 win on September 9.

Washington built its lead the right way. Yohandy Morales got things started in the second with a 406-foot home run to left, and the Nationals kept the pressure on through the middle innings. In the sixth, Brady House doubled to center, scoring two runs to push the lead to 3-0. Andres Chaparro added a solo shot to left in the eighth — 337 feet — to make it 4-1, and at that point it looked like Washington had this one locked up. San Diego had managed just one run to that point, a sacrifice fly by Merrill in the seventh that scored Machado.

Then the eighth inning happened. What followed was one of the more stunning collapses of the night. San Diego chipped away immediately: a sacrifice fly by Hays scored Bogaerts to make it 4-2. Then Manny Machado singled to center, scoring Fermin and Tatis Jr. to tie the game at 4. That single was the gut punch — the win probability swung from 34% to 67% in San Diego's favor on that one swing. Washington had been three outs from a road win. Suddenly they were tied. Luis Campusano finished it off, singling to right to score Machado and give San Diego a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.

The story of the night was the pitching matchup unraveling at the worst possible moment for Washington. Riley Cornelio was sharp early — 3.0 innings, no hits, no runs, four strikeouts — but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead when it mattered. Casey Mize went 5.2 innings for San Diego, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs with 7 strikeouts, which looks like a quality enough outing that his team had to bail him out rather than the other way around. Machado finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored and appears to have been the difference-maker on both ends of the eighth — scoring on the Merrill sac fly and then delivering the tying knock himself. Washington got contributions across the lineup — Morales, Chaparro, House, and Dylan Crews each had hits — but four runs in nine innings wasn't enough once San Diego's eighth-inning eruption rewrote the final line.