The Washington Nationals bounced back this afternoon from last night’s lethargic loss with a huge one-run victory over the first-place Rays. The pitching staff was put behind the eight-ball pretty early on when Cade Cavalli was pulled from his start after recording just eight outs and allowing nine base runners. The ballgame was won thanks to incredible defense backing up tremendous efforts by Mitchell Parker and Brad Lord out of the bullpen, and then Clayton Beeter coming up big in the ninth inning to finish the game off with the save.

The Action

The Rays got off to a hot start in this one, taking a first-inning lead. The afternoon for Cade Cavalli began with three consecutive singles off him, followed by a sacrifice fly by Junior Caminero to put Tampa Bay ahead 1-0. Cavalli would recover well and get the next batter to ground into a double play, effectively ending the frame and keeping the deficit at one run.

CJ Abrams struck back immediately for the good guys against Ian Seymour, as he led off the second inning with a solo homer, his 16th of the season already, and just like that, we were right back to a tie ballgame. The inning wasn’t quite over yet, as Nasim Nunez followed up later in the frame with an RBI double to left field, scoring Dylan Crews and making it 2-1, Washington.

Cavalli followed that rally up by putting up a zero in the bottom of the second, albeit not before loading the bases again, but a scoreless inning nonetheless. It was the bottom of the third inning where the home-standers struck back, as the speedy Chandler Simpson grounded a base hit into center field, scoring Caminero, the tying run. A few batters later, Blake Butera wasted no time pulling Cavalli and gave the ball into the hands of Mitchell Parker after just 2.2 innings from Cade.

Parker was able to settle things down well and guided the game safely into the fifth inning with the tie score still intact. It was in the top of the fifth inning when his offense finally got him some help, as the Nats retook the lead on a ground ball by Andres Chaparro, scoring Keibert Ruiz, and giving the Nationals a 3-2 lead.

• Cade Cavalli: 2.2 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 68 pitches
• Ian Seymour: 5 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 81 pitches

Parker benefited from a double-play ball in the bottom of the inning en route to a 1-2-3 shutdown frame to finish off his 2.1 innings of scoreless relief work. Brad Lord was given the ball in the bottom half of the sixth inning and worked a clean inning of his own to begin his outing. He then worked around a little bit of traffic on the basepaths in the seventh and eighth innings, but both times was able to maneuver his way out of the frames without any damage being inflicted.

The Nats got a huge insurance run in the top of the ninth, as Dylan Crews picked a great time to step up and deliver his fifth long ball of the season to make it 4-2, Washington. That run would prove to be huge, as the Rays manufactured a run in the bottom of the ninth off Clayton Beeter, with Taylor Walls coming in to score on an RBI single by Yandy Diaz. After the runner for Diaz stole second base and stood there representing the tying run with nobody out, Beeter dialed in and retired the next three hitters, including the last two on strikeouts, with an intentional walk mixed in there. For Beeter, this had to have been one of the more memorable saves of his career, as his father watched excitedly from the Nationals’ dad’s suite in the stadium, surrounded by numerous dads of other players.

What’s Next?

The Nationals will hit the field again tomorrow afternoon at 1:40, looking for yet another series win and to make it to four games above .500. With the series on the line, they’ll turn to the young lefty Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.49 ERA). He’ll be opposed by the veteran right-hander Nick Martinez (6-2, 2.60 ERA), a difficult matchup for any lineup.

In a quick personal note, the games will be going forward for the next 8-9 days without me, as I will be flying overseas tomorrow morning on an eight-day mission trip, with little contact with the world back home. If you are one to pray, it would mean the world to me if you would consider praying for the safety for my small team and me, as well as success in our time abroad. I trust this community won’t let the team fall apart while I’m gone, and I’ll return to hear all about the wins the boys are going to pick up this coming week!

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

• 14-1 win today versus Toledo
• Carson Palmquist: 2 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts (3.27 ERA)
• Riley Cornelio: 2 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts (4.38 ERA)
• Christian Franklin: 2-3, home run (5), 2 RBIs, 2 walks (.263 BA, .768 OPS)
• YoYo Morales: 2-5, home run (16), 2 RBIs (.325 BA, .964 OPS)
• Brady House: 2-4, double, 4 RBIs, walk (.287 BA, .767 OPS)
• Harry Ford: 2-4, double, home run (2), 3 RBIs, walk (.211 BA, .638 OPS)
• Phillip Glasser: 2-4, RBI (.289 BA, .671 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 1:05 game versus Toledo (Jackson Kent pitching)

AA Harrisburg

• 8-0 loss today versus Erie
• Kyle Luckham: 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts (5.37 ERA)
• Sam Brown: 0-2, 2 walks (.250 BA, .746 OPS)
• Devin Fitz-Gerald: 1-4 (.114 BA, .352 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 1:00 game versus Erie (Jared Simpson pitching)

High-A Wilmington

• 4-2 win today versus Brooklyn
• Mikey Tepper: 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts (2.53 ERA)
• Ronny Cruz: 1-4, double (.229 BA, .632 OPS)
• Jacob Walsh: 1-3, double, RBI (.171 BA, .405 OPS)
• Randal Diaz: 2-4 (.261 BA, .788 OPS)
• Caleb Farmer: 1-4, double, RBI (.290 BA, .900 OPS)
• Elijah Nunez: 2-4, 2 doubles (.286 BA, .811 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 1:05 game versus Brooklyn (Riley Maddox pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

• 10-2 win today versus Salem
• Grant Manning: 3 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts (2.78 ERA)
• Gavin Fien: 1-5, double, 3 RBIs, walk (.240 BA, .732 OPS)
• Coy James: 1-5, RBI, walk (.219 BA, .742 OPS)
• Luke Dickerson: 1-2, RBI, 3 walks (.227 BA, .790 OPS)
• Jorgelys Mota: 1-3, home run (1), 2 RBIs
• Nick Peoples: 3-4, double, walk (.195 BA, .700 OPS)
• Manny Cabrera: 3-3, RBI, 2 walks (.208 BA, .656 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 1:35 game versus Salem (DJ Herz pitching)