Photo Sol Tucker/Nats.Talk

It’s been a heck of a week dealing with foreign airports, jet lag, and post-trip sickness, but tonight I finally got to sit down and watch the boys get after it for the first time in almost two weeks. And man, they did not disappoint. After a successful road trip, the Washington Nationals found themselves back at home with a record of two games above .500, and a huge holiday weekend opportunity to improve upon that. And the Nats did not disappoint.

The Nats got some early runs thanks to the longball, as Luis Garcia Jr., Daylen Lile, and Jose Tena all went deep off of Pirates’ starter Mitch Keller. This was all in support of a nice outing by Foster Griffin and a stellar bullpen night (until the 9th inning) to give Washington the win in game one of this weekend series.

The Action

The scoring in this one got started just two batters into the bottom of the first, as Luis Garcia continued what has been an unbelievable summer with his 17th homer of the season, a solo shot to put the Nats ahead 1-0.

Foster Griffin worked around two base runners in the top of the second to hold the lead where it was, sending the game into the bottom of the second inning still 1-0. Daylen Lile was due up second in the inning, and after a flyout by Dylan Crews, he smacked a ball on a line straight over the center field wall for his 9th homer of the season, making it 2-0 after just two frames.

The Pirates got on the board in the top of the third, as Bryan Reynolds took Foster Griffin deep to center field for his 12th of the season. Thankfully, it was just a solo shot, cutting the Nats’ lead in half to 2-1.

The offense was able to answer that immediately in the bottom of the third, as James Wood led off with his first triple of the season. Two batters later, he and Jose Tena would come in to score, as Tena hit his 4th bomb of the season, a two-run shot to make it 4-1. Later in the inning, the Nats got some two-out production, as Daylen Lile ripped an RBI double into right, scoring CJ Abrams and extending the lead to 5-1.

The game would settle down in a big way after that, as both starters settled in and traded zeroes over the fourth and fifth innings before the Nationals went to their bullpen in the top of the sixth with the score still 5-1 good guys.

To his credit, Mitch Keller bounced back from a rough first three innings to give the Pirates some length. He was able to grit his teeth and get through six innings, with no damage occurring in the latter three, turning his day around after the rocky start.

• Mitch Keller: 6 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs (5 earned), 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 83 pitches
• Foster Griffin: 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 run (1 earned), 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 83 pitches

Orlando Ribalta kept the train of zeroes going, putting up a clean inning in the sixth. Justin Lawrence began the top of the seventh strong, retiring the first two he faced before allowing a double and two walks to load the bases with two outs. Clayton Beeter was brought in to escape the jam, and did just that with a huge strikeout of Bryan Reynolds to hold the lead at 5-1.

The bottom of the seventh saw a huge swing, once again off the bat of Luis Garcia. This time, he got a fastball well above the zone, at a height that I think I’ve only seen him or CJ Abrams be able to do damage at, and he blasted it out to right field for a two-run homer. His second home run of the night gave him his 18th of the year, tying his career-high, and it’s only July 3rd! I would really love to see his recent surge get some love, and potentially even some all-star attention as we get closer to the break.

Because the lead had ballooned to 7-1, Blake Butera elected to save Beeter from throwing more pitches and instead brought on Zak Kent for the eighth inning. Kent allowed runners to reach second and third with two outs, but like the Nats’ pitching staff had done multiple times already tonight, he buckled in and got the next batter out to escape the inning unscathed.

The Nationals picked up some more insurance runs in the eighth, with Daylen Lile putting the bow on what was a monster night for him. He added a third extra-base hit on the night with his second homer of the game as well, a two-run shot off of Isaac Mattson to make it 9-1 Washington.

The Pirates did some damage control against Kent in the ninth, making the score look a little bit more respectable. The Buccos picked up back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles from Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, and Esmerlyn Valdez to make it a 9-4 ballgame. Kent got the second out of the inning before Nick Gonzales hit the fourth RBI double of the inning, making it 9-5 and stirring up some anxiety in the ballpark with Kent fading and Riley Cornelio getting hot in the bullpen. That anxiety was short-lived, as he got Jake Mangum to hit one right to CJ Abrams, who made the catch for the final out, sealing a huge curly-W to start off the holiday weekend.

What’s Next?

The teams will reconvene tomorrow morning to play the Nats’ annual July 4th 11:05 am game, kicking off a full day of festivities in the nation’s capital. It’ll be a tough one for the Nats, as they get to face Braxton Ashcraft (8-3, 3.33 ERA), one of the biggest breakout pitchers of the season across the entire league. But if there’s anything we know about this offense, it’s that they aren’t afraid of anyone, so let’s see if they can provide enough run support for Zack Littell (7-6, 5.29 ERA), who will look to give the Nats an early clinch of the series and an opportunity to sweep on Sunday.

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

• 11-5 win tonight versus Lehigh Valley
• Jackson Kent: 5 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts (4.26 ERA)
• Yohandy Morales: 3-5, double, RBI (.310 BA, .926 OPS)
• Brady House: 3-5, double, 2 RBIs (.307 BA, .808 OPS)
• Andrew Pinckney: 2-4, 2 RBIs, walk (.285 BA, .831 OPS)
• Trey Lipscomb: 2-4, walk (.263 BA, .812 OPS)
• Joey Wiemer: 3-4, home run, 5 RBIs (.187 BA, .519 OPS)
• Phillip Glasser: 1-4, double (.312 BA, .731 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 6:45 game versus Lehigh Valley (Luis Perales pitching, Andrew Painter throwing for LV)

AA Harrisburg

• 7-0 loss tonight versus Richmond
• Trevor Williams (Rehab start): 2.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
• Riley Maddox: 5 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts (AA debut)
• Cortland Lawson: 1-4, double (.254 BA, .729 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 7:00 game versus Richmond (starter TBD)

High-A Wilmington

• 7-4 win tonight at Hudson Valley
• Alexander Meckley: 4.2 innings, 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts (6.04 ERA)
• Ronny Cruz: 2-4, double, walk (.238 BA, .659 OPS)
• Kevin Bazzell: 1-3, double (.294 BA, .833 OPS)
• Angel Feliz: 2-5, RBI (.244 BA, .702 OPS)
• Jacob Walsh: 3-4, 2 home runs, 2 RBIs (.211 BA, .621 OPS)
• Elijah Green: 1-5, double (.209 BA, .686 OPS)
• Teo Banks: 2-5, RBI (.252 BA, .728 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 7:05 game at Hudson Valley (Yoel Tejada pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

• 8-3 win tonight at Columbia
• Leuris Portorreal: 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts (4.79 ERA)
• Levi Huesman: 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts (4.19 ERA)
• Gavin Fien: 1-5, double, RBI (.247 BA, .766 OPS)
• Brandon Boissiere: 3-5, 2 home runs, 3 RBIs (.333 BA, 1.218 OPS)
• Rafael Ramirez: 1-2, 3 walks (.266 BA, .837 OPS)
• Dashyll Tejada: 3-5, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs, triple (.243 BA, .807 OPS)
• Juan Cruz: 1-5, double (.273 BA, .796 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 6:05 game at Columbia (Marlon de La Cruz pitching)

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