Well, I can’t say last night’s ballgame was the most fundamentally sound game I’ve ever seen in my life, but when the Nationals get a win, I’m not one to really care how it has to happen. A sloppy game on both sides saw a combined 12 walks between the two pitching staffs, a comedy of mental errors strewn throughout, and some really rough calls from the home plate umpire. Nevertheless, the Nats’ offense did what it needed to do to make it out with a 6-3 victory and take a 2-0 lead in this West Coast series.

❝It’s not easy to win in the big leagues, and we’ll celebrate every win that we can. It wasn’t the prettiest one on the pitching side, but you talk to these guys — and maybe when you’re not at your best, that still being able to come through this lineup while pitching the way we did, result-wise, you’ve got to be happy with it. At the end of the day, [our team] dug deep and found a way to get outs and help us win the game.❞

— manager Blake Butera said

The Action

This one got off to a fast start, as the Nats jumped on Adrian Houser quickly in the top half of the first inning. James Wood worked a seven pitch at-bat to begin the game and ended it with a line drive single, and then Luis Garcia followed with a two-run homer, his eighth of the season, to give Washington a 2-0 lead just two batters into the game.

The story of the night for Andrew Alvarez was getting out of jams, as he worked 4+ innings in the start last night, allowing five hits and walking five throughout, but the Giants were never able to capitalize on those baserunners until the fifth inning. Alvarez began his night by striking out the side in the first, around a Luis Arraez triple, but posted a zero nonetheless and the Nats were off and running.

Adrian Houser followed suit in the second, as Nasim Nunez led off with a double, giving the Nationals a golden opportunity to extend the lead, but Houser mimicked Alvarez and struck out the next three batters to escape any trouble.

The Giants rallied again in the second inning, loading the bases on a double and two walks, but once again, Alvarez escaped damage thanks to a timely strikeout and a popup. He got out of trouble again in the third, getting Bryce Eldridge to ground out with runners on the corners and two outs, getting this game to the middle innings with the 2-0 lead still intact.

The Giants went to the bullpen in the top half of the fifth, bringing on the crafty lefty, Sam Hentges. Houser left the game with a man on third and one out, and Hentges was charged with facing the top of the Nats’ order and not allowing a run. He did his job and induced a softly hit groundball, but the ball had eyes and trickled into left field for an RBI single, adding on a key insurance run to make it 3-0.

Andrew Alvarez had to grind and labor to make it through four scoreless innings, but with two lefties, Arraez and Rafael Devers leading off the fifth, Blake Butera sent him back out to try and take advantage of the matchups for two more hitters. It was clear pretty quickly that Andrew was out of steam, as his velocity was way down and his command was all over the place. He ended up walking Devers and surrendering a single to Arraez, moving Devers to third before Butera came and took the ball from him.

• Andrew Alvarez: 4 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs (2 earned), 5 walks, 4 strikeouts, 90 pitches
• Adrian Houser: 4.1 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 0 walks, 6 strikeouts, 77 pitches

Brad Lord took over for Alvarez and tried to get out of the jam. He started off excellently, striking out Willy Adames to make escaping a much more realistic possibility. That was quickly snuffed by Jung Hoo Lee, who snuck a ground ball down the right field line, clearing the bases for a two-run double to make it a 3-2 ballgame. Two batters later, Lord had loaded the bases with one out and the Giants were threatening to make this inning an absolute disaster for the Nationals. Brad found his control just in time, and got Daniel Susac to pop out, and Drew Gilbert to ground out to keep the one-run lead intact.

❝Every big league game matters — but they matter more when you’re trying to push for a PLAYOFF hunt. We’re a bunch of young guys that are just hungry to win. We’re going to play hard for 27 outs, from the first to the ninth [inning]. That’s just kind of been our brand of baseball. Play hard, play fast — and punch you in the mouth from the first inning all the way to the last out.❞

— Brad Lord said

Brad came back and set down the side in order in the sixth to seemingly settle the game down for the Nats’ pitching staff, and in the seventh, the offense woke back up and changed the game.

Back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, followed by a walk by Andres Chaparro loaded the bases with nobody out for Dylan Crews in a pinch-hitting spot. Giants’ reliever Erik Miller didn’t have his control at all, as a run came in to score on a wild pitch to make it 4-2, and then Crews drew a walk to load the bases right back up. Two batters later, Daylen Lile drew a walk, forcing in James Wood to score, and the third walk of the inning helped the Nats pick up some much-needed insurance to make it 5-2.

The Giants mounted a threat in the bottom of the seventh against Brad Lord, loading the bases with two outs. Blake Butera went back to his bullpen and brought in Richard Lovelady, and Tony Vitello countered with Buddy Kennedy for this huge at-bat. Lovelady was up to the task, getting Kennedy to line out, and the inning came to an end without damage.

Clayton Beeter pitched a strong bottom of the eighth to send the game to the ninth with the three-run lead still sitting pretty. The Nats got one more insurance run on an RBI triple by Daylen Lile, and on came Orlando Ribalta to finish it off.

He got the first two batters of the inning on groundouts, before Bryce Eldridge gave San Francisco fans at least something to cheer about. Eldridge took Ribalta deep to center field to make it 6-3, but Matt Chapman would pop out in the next at-bat to put this one in the books and clinch the Nats another road series win.

What’s Next?

The series will conclude this afternoon at 3:45, as the West Coast trip will come to a close for the Nationals, who look to finish it off in style. Foster Griffin (7-2, 3.63 ERA) will look to guide the boys to a sweep, but it won’t come easily, as the Nationals will have to face the veteran left-hander Robbie Ray (4-6, 4.12 ERA). The Nats have had some rough luck against Ray in recent seasons, but I feel pretty safe in saying that this is not exactly the same team we’ve had in recent seasons, so who knows? A sweep could surely be on the very near horizon.

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

• 6-5 loss last night versus Worcester (10 innings)
• Chandler Champlain: 6 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts (3.47 ERA)
• Abi Ortiz: 1-4, home run (11), RBI, walk (.262 BA, .887 OPS)
• Brady House: 2-5 (.308 BA, .851 OPS)
• Andrew Pinckney: 1-4, double (.276 BA, .786 OPS)
• Robert Hassell: 1-4, home run (2), RBI (.229 BA, .645 OPS)
• Riley Adams: 1-4, home run (3), 2 RBIs (.213 BA, .721 OPS)
• Today: 6:45 game tonight versus Worcester (Jackson Kent pitching)

AA Harrisburg

• 1-0 win last night at Richmond
• Kyle Luckham: 6 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts (5.63 ERA)
• Holden Powell: 1 inning, 1 hit, 3 strikeouts (2nd save, 4.96 ERA)
• TJ White: 1-3 (AA debut)
• Devin Fitz-Gerald: 0-4, 3 strikeouts (AA debut)
• Ethan Petry: 0-3, 2 strikeouts (AA debut)
• Cortland Lawson: 1-3, double (.244 BA, .710 OPS)
• Senators were out-hit 6-2, still won
• Today: 7:05 game tonight at Richmond (Connor Van Scoyoc pitching)

High-A Wilmington

• 7-5 loss last night at Greensboro
• Mikey Tepper: 3.2 innings, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts (High-A debut)
• Eli Willits: 0-3, 2 walks (High-A debut)
• Ronny Cruz: 1-4, double, RBI, walk (.225 BA, .626 OPS)
• Yeremy Cabrera: 1-4, walk (.236 BA, .627 OPS)
• Jared Walsh: 1-4 (High-A debut)
• Angel Feliz: 1-4, double (.239 BA, .663 OPS)
• Elijah Green: 2-4, home run (9), 2 RBIs (.201 BA, .663 OPS)
• Jack Moroknek: 2-2, double, 2 walks, RBI (High-A debut)
• Today: 6:30 game tonight at Greensboro (Riley Maddox pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

• 2-0 win last night at Kannapolis
• Grant Manning: 4.2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts (2.27 ERA)
• Travis Steele: 2.2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts (Season debut)
• Austin Amaral: 1.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts (1st save)
• Luke Dickerson: 3-4 (.234 BA, .794 OPS)
• Coy James: 1-3, double, walk (.222 BA, .767 OPS)
• Dashyll Tejada: 1-4, double (.216 BA, .757 OPS)
• Today: 7:00 game tonight at Kannapolis (Leuris Portorreal pitching)