PITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Nick Pivetta (9-2, 2.88 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 122 strikeouts); Nationals: MacKenzie Gore (4-8, 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 138 strikeouts) BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres play on Sunday with the three-game series tied 1-1.

The Padres had chances on Saturday to make a young pitcher work a lot harder and leave a lot earlier. Then they had a chance against the major leagues’ worst bullpen. They could have beat a bad team and created a surge at the start of the season’s second half. Instead, a 4-2 loss to the Nationals was like so many before it this season.