By the time it was over, San Diego had racked up 16 hits to Washington's 4, and the game's Polymarket chat room lit up watching the rout unfold.
San Diego has won 3 straight and taken the first two meetings of this series before salting away this one too, part of a stretch that's kept the Padres a half-game off the final National League wild-card spot as September winds down. Washington, meanwhile, is mired in a losing streak that showed no signs of stopping — the offense managed just 2 runs and an error snuck through in the field.
Only one bullpen was actually tested. Washington's relievers leaked runs from the moment Kent got into trouble, while Buehler and San Diego's relief corps cruised behind a lineup that had this one in hand early.
The room noticed the outburst in real time. The chat's busiest stretch landed right as San Diego was piling on, and the reactions after: "This why I only bet on real sports like League of Legends," from one poster holding Washington, and "Incoming two grand slams," from another holding the Nationals — a bit that never had a shot against the score in front of it.
Final: Padres 9, Nationals 2 — San Diego's third straight win in this series and its latest step toward keeping the wild-card race exactly where it left it, a half-game away.