SAN DIEGO — Sean Manaea strolled through the clubhouse Saturday afternoon, turned the clubhouse stereo up and belted out classic rock songs, one after another, as he dressed at his locker.
He was feeling good.
His left arm was, too, but he had to wait a day to prove it.
The Padres’ baffling bats managed one timely hit on Sunday. But there was a runner on base for Josh Bell’s second homer in as many days, providing just enough breathing room as Manaea completed seven innings for the first time in more than two months in a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals.
The 30-year-old left-hander had left his previous start with a bout of dead arm, leading him to bypass his bullpen session before Sunday’s return to the mound.
Five days later, Manaea’s velocity ticked up across the board as he breezed through seven innings on 69 pitches (51 strikes).
He paid only for the 440-foot homer that Nelson Cruz slammed off the face of the third deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building in the fourth inning.
But Manaea didn’t walk a batter, scattered four other singles and struck out four.
The quality start arrived on the heels of allowing a 6.50 ERA over his last 11 starts, dating back to his last seven-inning outing on June 8.
Robert Suarez stranded two singles in the eighth inning and Nick Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth to salvage a four-game split with the Nationals, whose 82 losses are the most in the majors.
That the Padres managed just two runs off left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-17, 6.81 ERA) is concerning as is the offense in general in going 8-10 since the trade deadline netted Juan Soto, Bell and Brandon Drury.
Drury’s leadoff double in the sixth teed up Bell, who homered as a right-handed hitter a day after blasting off from the left side.
