When we talk about how to respond to getting trounced in a game, that’s not something the Washington Nationals have done well in recent years. Tonight though, these 2026 Nats showed another sign of having turned the corner as compared to a team from the previous regime. These 2026 Nats came out a night after losing by 11 runs, and won a hard-fought game against a stout first place Pirates team.

This was a game in which the new and improved Nationals used several different pitchers in very interesting combinations, and it worked just well — and enough to get the Nats through nine innings for a 1-run win.

The Action

The Nationals jumped on Mitch Keller early, a habit they’ve been really starting to stick to lately, and it’s started at the top of the lineup with James Wood. Wood led off the game with a walk, and after Luis Garcia followed that up with a second walk, Wood stole third base to put himself in easy scoring position with nobody out. Brady House immediately cashed in, shooting an RBI single to center field to put the Nats ahead, and that was followed by two more RBI singles from Daylen Lile and CJ Abrams, giving Washington the 3-0 lead before PJ Poulin even touched the mound.

Poulin got another opportunity tonight as an opener, and didn’t quite have the success he usually does. After a surgical strikeout to start the inning, he threw a sweeper well off the plate to Brandon Lowe, but Lowe just put a great swing on it and sent it out to right for a solo shot.

After Poulin finished the inning without further damage, he gave way to Miles Mikolas in the bottom of the second, handing the ball off with the Nationals ahead 3-1.

That lead would get a boost in the top of the third, as CJ Abrams continued his monster night with a solo home run off of Keller to push the lead to 4-1. His sixth home run of the season added to his early-season case for being the Nat that has taken the largest jump of improvement so far on the young season.

As Mikolas began his day strong, with two straight 1-2-3 innings, the Nationals’ offense continued to extend the lead. This time, Luis Garcia came up big in the top of the fourth, driving in Nasim Nunez on an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1.

The Pirates finally broke through against Mikolas in the bottom of the fourth, getting an RBI double from Marcell Ozuna (Ozuna from the Pirates, if you know you know), and an RBI groundout from Nick Gonzales. They got another in the fifth on a solo home run by Joey Bart to cut the lead to 5-4 before Blake Butera pulled the string and brought in Mitchell Parker for his first big league outing of the season.

• Miles Mikolas: 3.1 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 49 pitches
• Mitch Keller: 4 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs (5 earned), 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 90 pitches

Mitchell got started HOT, striking out the first three batters he faced, and kept the good times rolling through his two scoreless innings of relief. He recorded five outs in this one, six via the strikeout, and got the Nationals into the seventh inning with the one-run lead still intact.

The biggest threat to the Nats’ lead tonight came in the bottom of the seventh, as Cionel Perez pulled off maybe his clutchest appearance of the year. Perez came into the game with the bases loaded and one out, and on the fifth pitch of his first batter, he got Nick Yorke to ground into an inning-ending 4-3 double play to get the Nats to the eighth inning with the lead.

Perez and Clayton Beeter combined to get the Nats through the bottom of the eighth, and Gus Varland, apparently the Nats’ new closer, battled through a two-on, one-out situation to get the final three outs of what was an incredibly gritty win for this Washington team.

What’s Next?

Game three of this four-game set will get started tomorrow night at 6:40. Jake Irvin (1-1, 7.07 ERA) will get the ball for the Nationals in a critical tilt of this series. The Pirates have yet to announce a starter for either of the final two games of the series, but tomorrow is a great opportunity for Irvin to step up and get the job done for this team.

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

• 5-3 loss tonight versus Buffalo
• Andrew Alvarez: 5.1 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts
• Erik Tolman: 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
• Robert Hassell: 2-5, home run (1), RBI
• Harry Ford: 2-4, double, walk
• Yo-Yo Morales: 2-4
• Trey Lipscomb: 2-4, double, 2 RBIs
• Phillip Glasser: 3-4
• Tomorrow: 1:05 game versus Buffalo (Pitcher yet to be announced, Rochester will be facing Trey Yesavage)

AA Harrisburg

• 13-8 win today at Erie
• Eriq Swan: 1 inning, 2 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
• Seaver King: 3-4, 2 doubles, 5 RBIs, walk
• Cayden Wallace: 3-5, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, triple
• Brandon Boissiere: 1-1, double, 2 RBIs
• Jonathon Thomas: 1-3, double, RBI
• Sam Brown: 2-5, double, RBI
• Tomorrow: 6:05 game at Erie (Alex Clemmey pitching)

High-A Wilmington

• 6-4 loss tonight versus Hub City
• Yoel Tejada: 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
• Julian Tonghini: 2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts
• Ethan Petry: 2-5
• Elijah Green: 1-4, home run (2), RBI
• Hunter Hines: 2-4, home run (1), 2 RBIs
• Tomorrow: 6:35 game versus Hub City (Liam Sullivan pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

• 21-4 win today versus Delmarva
• Carson Fischer: 3.1 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
• Grant Manning: 2.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
• Eli Willits: 2-3, double, 4 walks
• Luke Dickerson: 3-5, triple, home run (2), 4 RBIs, 2 walks
• Ronny Cruz: 2-3, double, 4 RBIs, walk
• Yeremy Cabrera: 2-4, home run (2), 2 RBIs, 2 walks
• Coy James: 1-5, double, RBI, walk
• Juan Cruz: 1-2, triple, 2 RBIs
• Jack Moroknek: 3-4, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 2 walks
• Sir Jamison Jones: 4-6, 3 home runs (3), double, 6 RBIs
• Nick Peoples: 3-6
• Tomorrow: 11:05 am game versus Delmarva (Leuris Portorreal pitching)