The Washington Nationals kick off a three-game series against the San Diego Padres tonight at Petco Park. The Nationals will send left-handed pitcher Mitchell Parker to the mound, who has a 4-8 record with an ERA of 4.59, and the Nationals will face right-handed pitcher Stephen Kolek, who has a 3-2 record with a 3.59 ERA over 52.2 innings pitched.

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The Washington Nationals lost the weekend series’ rubber match to the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon. Michael Soroka performed well, but the bullpen and lineup could not support him.

Soroka took the bump, trying to give his team the best possible shot at a series win after an 11-game losing streak. He struck out two huge names in a 1-2-3 first in Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, a brief glimpse of what was to come. He also threw a 1-2-3 second, and recorded two outs in the third before allowing a walk. Soroka struck out Ohtani again to get out of it, and he punched out two more hitters in the 1-2-3 fourth. He only allowed his first hit in the fifth after he got two more “K’s”, a double to Hyeseong Kim. Another strikeout ended the fifth inning, his 10th of the game. The sixth inning was where the wheels fell off, as another double and a walk led off the inning. Soroka induced a pop-up before hitting Freeman with a pitch, and Dave Martinez had seen enough. In a controversial move with the bases loaded, he brought in lefty Jose A. Ferrer, who had just recorded five outs last night. Ferrer immediately surrendered a grand slam to Max Muncy, so the three runners on base were charged to Soroka.

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On Deck…

The Washington Nationals will play game two of three against the Padres with the first pitch scheduled at 9:40 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are scheduled to send right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams to the mound with a 3-8 record and a 5.54 ERA. Williams has 58 strikeouts on the season. Williams has a career 4.91 ERA over five games, 22.0 innings pitched against the Padres and 20 strikeouts, and a 1-1 record. The Padres have yet to name their starter for game two.

In the hole…

The Nationals will finish up their three-game series against the Padres with the first pitch scheduled to be at 4:10 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are scheduled to send left-hand pitcher MacKezine Gore, who has a 3-7 record with an ERA of 3.19 and 123 strikeouts. Gore has a career 5.52 ERA over three games, 14.2 innings pitched, and a 1-1 record with 15 strikeouts against the Padres.

James Wood has emerged as a standout performer for the Washington Nationals during the 2025 season. Over 78 games, he boasts a .279 batting average, collecting 82 hits in 294 at-bats. His offensive production has been impressive, with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs, placing him among the league leaders in both categories. Wood has also contributed nine stolen bases and scored 47 runs, demonstrating a well-rounded skill set at the plate and on the bases. His advanced metrics underscore his power and plate discipline: he owns a .376 on-base percentage and a .558 slugging percentage, resulting in a robust .934 OPS, which ranks him among the top hitters in the National League.

Statcast data highlights his elite contact quality, with an average exit velocity of 94.1 mph and a hard-hit rate of 57.8%. He has barreled 18.9% of his batted balls, translating to frequent extra-base hits and consistent power threats in the lineup. Wood’s approach at the plate has improved, as reflected by a walk rate of 13.4% and a reduced strikeout rate compared to his rookie campaign. Defensively, he continues to patrol left field, leveraging his 6-foot-7 frame and athleticism to provide value in the outfield.

Overall, Wood’s 2025 campaign has solidified his status as a cornerstone of the Nationals’ future. He combined power, patience, and athleticism to deliver one of the most exciting breakout performances in baseball this season.

Left-handed pitcher Mitchell Parker enters tonight’s game with a record of 4-8 with an ERA of 4.59 over 15 games and 80.1 innings pitched this season. Parker has 58 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.32. Over the past seven games, Parker has a 1-5 record with an ERA of 5.40 with 35.0 innings pitched, 32 strikeouts, 21 earned runs, and has given up 38 hits.

Vs. the Padres

In his only regular-season appearance against the San Diego Padres, Mitchell Parker pitched 3.0 innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits, which resulted in a loss and an 18.00 ERA for the outing. He struck out five batters and issued three walks, with no saves recorded in the game.

The Padres wrap up their six-game homestand with a three-game series against the Nationals, starting Monday night. After this set, the team will finally get a well-earned day off—their first in nearly two weeks—before hitting the road for three games in Cincinnati, followed by another three in Philadelphia.

San Diego swept the season series against Washington in 2024 and currently boasts a six-game winning streak over the Nationals. This marks just the sixth time in franchise history that the Padres have swept a season series of six or more games against a single opponent; they also went 6-0 against Pittsburgh this year.

The Nationals series concludes a grueling stretch for the Friars: 26 games in 27 days, with 14 of those matchups coming against division rivals. All but three games in this span have been against National League teams, with the exception being a three-game set versus Kansas City.

On Sunday, the Padres clinched their series against the Royals with a dramatic 3-2 walk-off victory. They’re now 7-3 in rubber matches this season. That win was also their eighth comeback victory after trailing through six innings—the third-most in MLB—and their 15th one-run win, tying them for the second-most in the majors..

Stephen Kolek, a 28-year-old right-hander, is set to make his 10th start of the season and 52nd major league appearance, marking his first career start (second overall appearance) against the Nationals. His only previous outing versus Washington came on June 24, 2024, when he gave up two unearned runs on one hit and a walk in a 9-7 Padres win.

Kolek has worked at least five innings in eight of his nine starts this year, and has gone 5.1 innings or more in seven outings. On the road, he holds a 2-1 record with a 2.13 ERA and has limited opponents to a .213/.233/.322 slash line. At home, he's 1-1 with a 9.58 ERA and a .318/.354/.523 line.

Statistically, Kolek throws first-pitch strikes 60.1% of the time and averages 15.6 pitches per inning. In his last start at Dodger Stadium, he allowed four of his nine barrels this season, but his 5.6% barrel rate still ranks in the 85th percentile league-wide. Last year, he led all Padres pitchers with a 3.8% barrel rate (96th percentile). Kolek also owns a 51.6% ground ball rate this season, ranking in the 85th percentile, after finishing last year with a 56.4% ground ball rate (94th percentile).