Behind a strong outing from Cade Cavalli, Washington earned a 6-3 victory in Cleveland.
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CLEVELAND — Luis García Jr. took the iPad handed to him by a Washington Nationals employee and scratched his chin. The visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field was quiet as players went about their pregame routines, but that was about to change.
García took the aux and blasted a 50 Cent playlist. Andrés Chaparro’s head started bobbing from across the room. CJ Abrams danced his way down the hallway, while José Tena bopped over to join the party. Others would join in as they filtered in and out.
That’s how this Nationals team has been, on and off the field. They are having fun and playing freely, and Tuesday they took down the Cleveland Guardians, 6-3, for their fourth straight win. It’s hard to know what came first — whether the looseness came from winning or they’re winning because they loosened up. But either way, they are pouncing on opponents they should have no business touching.
With the win, the Nationals (29-27) secured another series victory and a winning road trip after taking two of three from the Atlanta Braves over the weekend.
“I don’t think anyone’s surprised in here,” Cade Cavalli said. “I think in spring training, this is what we envisioned. We know we’re a good club. We’ve got a lot of talent. Guys love each other, culture’s great and we’re having fun doing it.”
Washington’s starting pitcher led the way Tuesday, as has been the case the entire road trip. Cavalli pitched six innings, allowing just one run on five hits. In the first five games on this trip, the rotation has allowed just two earned runs in 29 innings.
“It makes my life a lot easier when those guys go out there and do what they’ve done recently against some really good lineups and teams that have really swung the bats well,” Manager Blake Butera said. “They keep getting better and better, and it definitely makes it more fun for us in the dugout when they are pitching the way they are.”
In Atlanta, the strong pitching bailed out an underperforming offense. In Cleveland, the bats have done their part, racking up 11 hits and five walks Tuesday after putting across 10 runs in the opener.
The scoring started in the second inning. Daylen Lile and Jacob Young came home on a single by Keibert Ruiz to make it 2-0 and give the Nationals 300 runs on the season, a mark they didn’t hit until June 17 last year. James Wood then sent a changeup 401 feet onto the concourse in right field for his 15th home run of the season.
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“It’s all season, he rakes,” Cavalli said. “We’re all in awe of what he does every day.”
From there, the pitching staff was able to maintain the lead, Cavalli doing so while navigating around a lineup with nine left-handed hitters. For the fourth time in his past five starts, the curveball was Cavalli’s most used pitch, and he got seven of his 13 whiffs and four of his seven strikeouts with it.
In the fifth inning, Cavalli loaded the bases with one out, bringing José Ramírez to the plate as the tying run. But the right-hander and his catcher came up with a plan, and while Ramírez’s flyball got one run across, that was fine with Cavalli.
“We went to the best pitch that we had, which is curveball,” Cavalli said. “It was working really well tonight, and we got a sac fly and minimized damage, which was huge.”
Jacob Young then made the play on a sharp line drive from Chase DeLauter, ending the fifth and earning a high clap from Cavalli as he walked off the mound. Cavalli got through the sixth, allowing a single to Kyle Manzardo but nothing else.
“I think you really see just the confidence and the comfort on the mound more and more each time he’s out there,” Butera said. “It looks like he’s having a blast out there, he feels really good.”
Cavalli gave way to Mitchell Parker, who pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth.
The Nationals added on in the ninth with a two-run, two-out single from Chaparro, and Parker went back out to try to wrap up the game. Things got a little dicey for Parker, the lefty letting in two runs, but he was able to calm down and earn the final two outs to get the save.
The Nationals won again. Cue the “Nats W” playlist and even more dancing.
“We’ve got a really good locker room,” Wood said. “It’s fun coming here every day.”
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