Padres' 'relentless' offense at its best in 12-run, 20-hit rout of Nats

WASHINGTON -- The Padres have been waiting for this.

By just about any metric, they own one of the sport’s best offenses. Their lineup is loaded with All-Stars. It’s balanced, and the pieces seem to fit.

But has it ever truly reached its ceiling? Has it ever truly shown what it’s capable of when all those pieces are clicking? Well, it might look something like this:

The Padres thrashed the Nationals, 12-3, on Wednesday night at Nationals Park, their fourth straight victory and one of their most impressive offensive displays of the season.

Jackson Merrill had four hits and finished a homer shy of the cycle. Jurickson Profar and Kyle Higashioka each went deep. Xander Bogaerts continued to rake since his return from the injured list with four hits and a walk.

“We got to the starter early, swinging at a lot of good pitches,” Bogaerts said. “Good things will happen.”

By the top of the fifth inning, every Padres starter had recorded a hit or scored a run -- and most of them had done both. The team’s 20 hits on the night marked a season-high.

That was plenty of support for right-hander Matt Waldron, who allowed three runs in the bottom of the first, then held the Nationals scoreless for the remainder of his six strong innings. After the game, Merrill was asked about the offense, and he interjected.

“I don’t even want to talk about the offense, because we know what that is,” Merrill said. “I want to talk about how Waldron shut the door right in their face. That was the key. He took the life out of them the whole rest of the game.”

Thing is, Waldron was more than happy to talk about the offense -- an offense that provided him with 12 unanswered runs after his shaky first inning.

“It was just fun to watch,” Waldron said. “I was just in the dugout admiring how electric our offense was. … It was relentless. It was just awesome to watch. I wanted to be a part of it and at least turn over a good five or six innings.”

The Padres entered play Wednesday ranked seventh in the Majors in offense, as measured by wRC+. But for much of the season it’s been a disjointed effort, largely due to injuries. Manny Machado dealt with his share. Bogaerts only recently returned from a fracture in his right shoulder.

And to be clear, the Padres aren’t quite whole just yet. They’re still missing Fernando Tatis Jr., who is on the way back from a stress reaction in his right femur. Luis Arraez, meanwhile, is battling left thumb soreness that he sustained last month against the Nationals as he dove into third base. He’s still hitting .311.

“That’s the definition of a winner,” manager Mike Shildt said of Arraez on Tuesday. “He loves playing baseball. He loves competing, loves playing for his team. He’s a team-first guy. It’s a great example of it, but he’s got some real grit and toughness.”

With his two hits on Wednesday, Arraez has now totaled 88 for the Padres since the early-May trade that sent him from Miami to San Diego. That set a club record for hits by a player acquired in-season, surpassing Chris Gomez’s mark of 86, which he set in 1996 after he arrived from Detroit.

This was the Padres offense at its best. Arraez set the table at the top. The middle of the order did damage. And the bottom of the order offered no breathing room.

“We don’t always get the results every night,” Shildt said. “But generally speaking, more than not, we take relentless at-bats. Tonight was again, one through nine, team contributions.”

The Padres stormed back instantly after the Nats’ three-run first. After Ha-Seong Kim’s leadoff walk, Merrill’s double put two men in scoring position and Arraez plated both with a two-out single. Profar followed with his second homer in as many nights. He’s now driven in a run in every game against the Nationals this season -- including a couple eventful ones last month in San Diego.

The Padres had the lead, and they wouldn’t relinquish it. They scored twice in the third, five times in the fourth and once more in the fifth. Given that Tatis -- arguably their best hitter -- remains sidelined, it’s not quite a complete offense. But the ceiling is undeniably high.

“We can compete with anyone,” Bogaerts said. “We can compete with the best of the best, and … we have help on the way.”