BALTIMORE — To right the ship after four consecutive losses, the Washington Nationals needed Foster Griffin, their steadiest and most reliable pitcher, to do what he has done all season. They were counting on him, Manager Blake Butera said, to stay even-keeled, a trait that he was hoping would trickle down to the rest of the team.
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Griffin did just that, and more. The right-hander tossed a career-high 112 pitches, the most by a Nationals pitcher since 2022, as he held the Baltimore Orioles to three hits over seven innings. His stellar performance helped lessen the load on the bullpen — and even that was nearly too much for the embattled unit — and helped the Nationals survive the Orioles, 4-3, in 10 innings.
“More than anything, it’s a sigh of relief,” Manager Blake Butera said. “After how these last few days have gone, it’s hard. It’s tough when you have leads and you lose them and you feel like you should have won some games, especially against a team like the Phillies. To bounce back and come back tonight again after they tied it and end up with the W on the road, it’s huge.”
Seven months ago, when Griffin signed with the Nationals, he was relatively unknown in the United States after three years pitching in Japan. Now, he’s the rock they have come to depend on. Through his first 16 starts, he pitched to a 3.15 ERA. By the time he walked off the mound Saturday, his ERA was down to 2.93. He struck out nine, matching his career-high.
The Nationals gave him a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Daylen Lile hit a ground-rule double and scored on a single from Jorbit Vivas. The Orioles responded right away after a throwing error from Nasim Nuñez allowed Jeremiah Jackson to reach second. That put him in scoring position, and he soon scored on a single by Chadwick Tromp.
The run was unearned, and Griffin would allow just one more hit the rest of the way.
Griffin was at 98 pitches after six innings when Butera approached his starter and asked how he was feeling. As he has done multiple times this season, Griffin told Butera he was feeling great. So Butera again trusted his starter to pitch the seventh, despite the high pitch count. And Griffin, again, showed him why he can be counted on.
“I’m honored that he has that faith in me,” Griffin said. “More than anything, I want the ball. I had a good plan going out there and was able to, even after the first two innings when I had an elevated pitch count, was able to get through seven.”
The Nationals added a run in the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead to 3-1. Luis García Jr. hit a solo home run in the fifth, his 14th of the season, and Drew Millas had an RBI single an inning later. While James Wood and CJ Abrams, the anchors of the offense, went a combined 0 for 8 with six strikeouts, García, Millas, Lile and Vivas stepped up with multi-hit games.
But despite a two-run lead and needing to cover only two innings, the Nationals’ bullpen still struggled. PJ Poulin took the mound for the eighth inning and gave up a single to Tromp. Poulin got the next two outs, striking out Taylor Ward and getting Gunnar Henderson to ground out.
With Tromp now on third, Butera opted to swap Poulin for Orlando Ribalta. Butera likes using him with runners on base, but this time it didn’t pay off. Pete Alonso hit a double to drive in Tromp, then Samuel Basallo hit an RBI single to tie the game.
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“We challenged those guys and asked them to come out and attack hitters,” Butera said. “Ribalta, believe the world in him. He went out there and attacked and got beat. He wasn’t walking guys, that’s a positive.”
Clayton Beeter struck out two in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game to extra innings. With Dylan Crews starting the inning on second, Lile hit an RBI single to give the Nationals a 4-3 lead.
“We always have to keep it interesting,” Lile said. “We’re always in the fight no matter what the score says. We can change the score at any moment.”
The bottom of the 10th went to Justin Lawrence, who was claimed on waivers on Wednesday. Lawrence had an 8.04 ERA this season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins, but the Nationals like his lower arm slot and the potential to reach mid- to high 90s with his sinker and four-seam fastball.
Jeremiah Jackson began the inning on second for the Orioles. Lawrence got Jackson Holliday to ground out for the first out, then Ward grounded it to Abrams, who got Jackson out at home.
Lawrence then gave up a single to Henderson and walked Alonso to load the bases with two outs.
Two pitches later, Lawrence got Basallo to ground out softly, ending the threat and snapping the losing streak.
“Chaotic is the stamp you can put on how my year’s gone this year, but I’m excited I was able to get that done, especially after the way Foster threw the ball,” Lawrence said. “Excited to turn this thing for the boys there.”
The bullpen performance was still shaky. But on Saturday, it did enough, just barely, to get the win.
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