Nationals’ bullpen collapse leaves Washington last in NL East
Washington surrendered a 4–1 eighth-inning lead against San Diego, with CBS Sports reporting the defeat produced the club’s 38th blown save of the season.
The Washington Nationals lost 5–4 to the San Diego Padres after surrendering a three-run lead in the eighth inning, a result that left the rebuilding club last in the National League East.
CBS Sports reported that the blown save was Washington’s 38th of the season, an MLB record. The claim comes with the historical limitation that saves only became an official statistic in 1969.
Rookie reliever Jared Simpson loaded the bases with three consecutive walks before Erik Tolman allowed a sacrifice fly, a two-run single and the go-ahead single. The Padres were pursuing a National League wild-card place.
The Nationals had briefly moved into contention after reaching 55–53 in late July. They have reportedly since gone 12–27, while their relief pitching has produced a 5.09 ERA, described in the source report as better than only the Athletics in MLB.
Manager Blake Butera said the team hoped to confront its bullpen failures and learn from them. The result came as the Mets moved past Washington in the standings, leaving the Nationals to address a persistent weakness as they look towards 2027.
