The Washington Nationals opened up a 5-0 lead in the first inning in this game this afternoon in Kansas City, only to see that lead go away very quickly. After the Royals tied it up in the eighth, my hopes of winning this one were pretty bleak, but the offense had one more rally in them, capped off by a Luis Garcia Jr. double followed with the game-winning single by Daylen Lile in the top of the ninth.
The game kicked off in a great way, with the Nationals finally getting their first grand slam of the season, in game number 120. Nathaniel Lowe took a curveball from Seth Lugo out to right field to give the Nats an early 4-0 lead. They added one more in the inning on an RBI double by Drew Millas, giving Jake Irvin a five run advantage before he ever touched the mound.
Unfortunately, Irvin was not his sharpest this afternoon. When your offense goes for a big inning, you need your pitcher to come out throwing strikes and going right after guys. Irvin walked the leadoff batter on four pitches in the bottom of the first, and that set the tone for his outing. The Royals got two runs in the frame, the first on an RBI groundout by Vinnie Pasquantino, the second on an RBI single by Adam Frazier.
The Royals got another run back in the second on an RBI single by Bobby Witt, but Jake was able to limit the damage and keep the Nats’ lead intact at 5-3.
The Nats’ offense got right back to it in the third, getting that run right back on a seeing-eye RBI single by Brady House, handing a struggling Irvin another three-run lead to protect.
He did just that in the bottom half of the third, tossing his first scoreless inning of the afternoon. He was instantly rewarded by CJ Abrams in the top of the fourth, as CJ clocked his 16th homer of the season, a solo shot extending the lead to 7-3.
At this point in the game, things were looking real good for the Nats. That all changed in the bottom half of the fourth. Vinnie Pasquantino accounted for four of Kansas City’s seven RBIs tonight, and three of them came on a home run in the fourth off of Irvin, taking what was a comfortable Washington lead, and turning it into a 7-6 ballgame.
- Jake Irvin: 4 innings, 7 hits, 6 runs (6 earned), 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 83 pitches
- Seth Lugo: 4 innings, 6 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 92 pitches
The bullpens traded zeroes back and forth, albeit with some extremely close calls, until the bottom half of the eighth. Clayton Beeter didn’t have his best day today, Bobby Witt struck again with a sacrifice fly to tie it up at seven off of Beeter, sending spirits plummeting, at least at my place.
In a twist that only the 2025 Nationals could give you, a Luis Garcia double set the stage for one of the young outfielders, Daylen Lile, to pick up yet another huge hit. His two-out RBI single off of Carlos Estevez in the ninth gave the Nats an 8-7 lead, and a scoreless ninth inning from Jose A. Ferrer would put the finishing touches on a great win by the Nats.
Positives today from the bullpen are immense, the Nats got scoreless appearances from Konnor Pilkington, PJ Poulin, Cole Henry, and Jose A. Ferrer. Ferrer in particular, while bumpy, has done exactly his job in his last couple of outings as the Nats’ new closer. That’s a really encouraging sign for all of us. Offensively, Lile and Brady House were your multi-hit performers, with backup from a steady output from top to bottom.
The Nats return home tomorrow night where they will begin a tough four-game series against the Phillies. Brad Lord (3-6, 3.28 ERA) will get the ball and attempt to keep his success going, he’ll be matched up against Jesus Luzardo (11-5, 4.20 ERA). This weekend will be a tough test for this young Nats team, but we will get to see Dylan Crews return to the lineup, a much needed boost for the boys.
