Nats' topsy-turvy 10th deserves a closer look

SAN DIEGO -- With the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning Monday night, Hunter Harvey knew what he wanted to deliver to Jurickson Profar. He had a strategy to seal a win on the seventh pitch in a 2-2 count.

Harvey’s splitter landed on the outside corner of the plate in the zone, though, and Profar drove it into right field for a two-run walk-off single in the Nationals’ 7-6 loss to the Padres at Petco Park.

“In my head, I wanted to get that ball down,” Harvey said. “And I thought for sure he would chase over it. But I didn’t get it down, I put it right where his bat path was, and he did what he was supposed to do.”

For only the second time in Nats history (2005-present), they surrendered a three-run lead and lost in extra innings. The only other instance was May 11, 2006, in a 5-4 defeat to the Reds in 11 innings. Lefty Joey Eischen was assessed the loss and blown save that day.

“It was one of those games,” manager Dave Martinez said. “... They came back and were able to score one more than us. It’s definitely hard to swallow, but we’ve got to come back and do it again tomorrow.”

Ruiz puts Nats ahead
With two outs and automatic runner Jesse Winker on second base, Keibert Ruiz got the go-ahead hit off righty reliever Enyel De Los Santos -- Ruiz’s second double of the night. It was his first game of the season with multiple extra-base hits and first since Aug. 5, 2023, at the Reds.

Ruiz attributed his offensive success to being patient at the plate.

“It was good getting my pitch to hit and getting that result to help this team in that situation,” Ruiz said. “But it sucks we don’t get the win. We’ve just got to keep our heads up and come back tomorrow.”

Senzel really puts the Nats ahead
In the following at-bat, Nick Senzel fell into an 0-2 count against De Los Santos. But then he began fouling off pitches and holding off on the ones out of the zone. Eventually, he ran the count full on the eighth pitch. Then, on the 10th, he drove a 96.9 mph fastball out of left-center field to give the Nats a 6-3 lead.

The home run marked the Nationals’ first extra-innings home run in an at-bat of 10 or more pitches, per Elias Sports Bureau.

“I’m just trying to fight and claw for each and every pitch,” Senzel said. “[I’m] just trying to be aggressive. But, obviously, getting down in the count early, I was just trying to fight back in the at-bat and just trying to fight off some of his well-executed pitches. Then, hopefully, he makes a mistake later on in the at-bat. He did, and I took advantage of it and it was a good moment.”

Harvey gets into jam -- and one out away from escaping it
With closer Kyle Finnegan unavailable after pitching Saturday and Sunday in Denver, Harvey was tabbed to pitch the 10th. He opened the frame by allowing a double to Donovan Solano, followed by a two-RBI single by Jackson Merrill that drove in Solano and automatic runner Jake Cronenworth. Washington’s three-run lead was down to one.

“You leave him out,” Martinez said of Harvey. “... I had no quarrels about him getting through that inning.”

Following a walk to Ha-Seong Kim, a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Tyler Wade advanced runners to second and third with one out. When Senzel saw a popup from pinch-hitter David Peralta fly toward the netting along the third-base line, he made a dash for it even though he first thought it was going out of play.

“Awesome, he was fired up and [a] big play right there,” Martinez said.

Three-run lead turns into one-run loss
One out away from victory, Harvey intentionally walked Luis Arraez. The masterful left-handed hitter is batting .343 against right-handers this season. That brought Profar to the plate. Harvey got ahead in the count, 0-2, but the at-bat extended to seven pitches, including an inside pitch that knocked Profar to the ground.

"It was two things: the walk and then this pitch, up and in, up near my face,” Profar said. “That pumped me up a lot."

Harvey’s 24th pitch resulted in a Padres walk-off celebration.

“I don’t ever regret anything,” Harvey said. “I feel like it’s just location. I feel like if I make the pitch that I wanted to make in my head that we’re sitting here and we’re celebrating.”