At the beginning of the season it would have been heresy to suggest the Padres might want to consider trading Dylan Cease. At the All-Star break he’d been so inconsistent the right-hander with the filthy stuff was popping up in trade rumors.

On Friday night at Nationals Park, where he threw a no-hitter a year ago, Cease put the trade talk away for a bit with one of his best outings of the year. He struck out 10 in 5.1 shutout innings and watched Manny Machado hit a 9th inning grand slam to push the Padres to a 7-2 win to start the second half of the year.

Cease set the tone early, striking out the side in the 1st inning with a heavy dose of low-90’s sliders and a rejuvenated fastball that touched triple digits. However, took a no-decision because once again the San Diego offense took a while to get going. Manager Mike Shildt decided to try something a little different.

In the 7th inning, with the Friars up 1-0 and runners at the corners, Shildt had catcher Elias Diaz put down a safety squeeze. Diaz only had two sacrifice bunts in his entire nine year career but he pulled it off, bringing home Xander Bogaerts to make it a 2-0 game.

In the bottom half Jeremiah Estrada got into a little trouble. A hit batter and a single put two on with nobody out. Brady House hit a line drive to right field, which is where Fernando Tatis Jr. roams. Josh Bell, the runner on 2nd base, decided to tag and advance.

That was not a wise decision. Tatis Jr. threw a one-hop rocket to Machado at 3rd to cut down Bell for an impressive double play.

Washington was able to tie it up in the 8th when Jason Adam, fresh off his first All-Star Game appearance, gave up a 2-run homer to Nats shortstop C.J. Abrams that tied that game 2-2. It didn’t stay tied for long.

In the top of the 9th the Padres put runners on the corners with nobody out and Diaz put down ANOTHER successful safety squeeze! This time Jake Cronenworth scampered home. Diaz has played 800 big league games and half of his four career sac bunts came in this game alone.

The fatal blow was dealt by Machado. With the bases loaded, Manny got a fastball at the top of the strike zone and did not miss, ripping his 13th career grand slam into the Padres bullpen in left field. It’s the Padres first salami of the season, resurrecting Slam Diego once again.

San Diego can win the series on Saturday afternoon behind Yu Darvish, who can also make a bit of personal history. He needs one more victory to become the all-time winningest pitcher from Japan. Darvish is tied with Hiroki Kuroda with 203 wins between MLB and NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball).