Heading to the road has done little to change the fortunes of the struggling Washington Nationals. The Nats, who are currently last in the National League East with a pitiful 23-32 record, traveled west to find greener pastures, kicking off a six-game road trip with three games against the lowly San Diego Padres. And even though the light-hitting Padres (21-34) are one of the few teams in baseball with a worse record than the Nationals, it didn't stop them from taking two of three from Washington.
Aaron Boone started the series in style, cracking a two-run homer in the top of the first to give the Nationals the early 2-0 lead in the series opener. But the Padres tied it in the third and then took the lead in the seventh off solo shots from Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Trevor Hoffman picked up the save for the Padres, securing the 4-2 win with a perfect ninth inning.
Washington battled back in game two of the series, taking a 6-4 decision behind the heroics of catcher Jesus Flores. Stepping to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the first, Flores launched his first career grand slam, staking the Nats to a 4-0 lead. Odalis Perez turned in a quality start for the win, going 6.1 innings and allowing three runs. Jon Rauch closed things out for his 11th save of the season.
The Padres got revenge in the series finale, scoring three times in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-2 win. Jody Gerut provided the decisive blow, blasting a three-run homer off Charlie Manning.
