Nationals 2, Padres 1: Zimmerman smashes Kirby’s Dreamland

Kirby Yates has had some pretty solid adventures with the Padres, but tonight he was bested by Ryan Zimmerman, who hit a solo shot in the eighth inning to suck the air out of Petco Park and put the Nationals on top. Jhoulys Chacin made it through five innings with just one run despite an incredibly shaky third inning, but the star of the game was clearly former Friar Edwin Jackson, who kept the Pads in check for seven innings.

The Nats got on the board in the third when Howie Kendrick led off with a double that caromed off the left field wall. That might not have amounted to anything at all, but Chacin beaned Daniel Murphy before giving Zimmerman a free pass to load the bases with one out. Adam Lind hit a sac fly, and Walgreens Washington was on the board.

The Friars got that run back fast, with Manuel Margot hitting the team’s third double in as many innings. Jose Pirela followed with a single into right that knotted the game at one run a piece. And that’s where it stayed until the eighth inning.

Chacin settled down a bit after the third, and Craig Stammen kept the Friars out of trouble in the sixth and seventh. The offense tried to break the tie, getting a man in scoring position for three straight innings, but the top of the eighth came and no one had pulled ahead. Yates had no trouble striking out Wilmer Difo, and Murphy followed with a swing-and-a-miss of his own. Lind struck out to end the inning, but not before Zimmerman dropped a ball in the right field home run deck.

Luis Perdomo will take on Max Scherzer in Game 2 Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM.