BALTIMORE — On Thursday night, as the Washington Nationals drove from Nationals Park into Maryland, Jake Irvin stood up on the bus. Irvin and Luis García Jr. are the only players who have been in the organization long enough to see the transition from the 2019 World Series title to the subsequent teardown.
Read more Red Sox rally past Yankees 5-4 in 10 innings to complete 4-game sweep after Gray loses no-hit bid
The Nationals appear to be returning to relevance, having hovered at or above .500 for the past month. But after losing three of four in heartbreaking fashion to the Philadelphia Phillies, they needed to get back on track to ensure that series didn’t doom the rest of the season.
While the coaches can do their part, Washington’s team leaders will help turn the ship around. Irvin, who is on the injured list, did that by reminding his teammates to stick together — even though times were tough, he knew they were better than this. García did it with his bat, hitting two home runs in the 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
“It means a lot to me,” García said through an interpreter. “I’ve been here in this organization for a long time. Being here present, being here for my teammates, that is really important.”
The Nationals, after back-to-back victories, walk away from the weekend with a series win and are just two games out of a National League wild-card spot. This weekend in Baltimore showed why “resilience” has been a popular word in Washington’s clubhouse.
“The Phillies series was tough,” said Zack Littell, who allowed two runs in five innings Sunday. “No one came out of that one feeling great about that. To come out here, win a couple of games, win a tight one as well, it feels good.”
García has seen the Nationals at their worst. So as the team was going through this rough patch, he didn’t panic, and he helped ensure his teammates didn’t either. That’s translated into his play, too.
On Sunday, García drove in two runs with a third-inning double, tying the game after Pete Alonso’s two-run homer in the first. He hit his first home run in the fifth, a two-run shot to make it 5-2, and went deep again in the seventh inning.
It was the sixth multihomer game of the season for García, who is second in the majors with 11 long balls in June. He’s at 16 homers through 85 games, just two away from tying the career high he set in 2024.
“When he’s playing well like this, and he’s able to be a voice, especially with what we’ve gone through over these last couple of weeks, to give us a sense of calmness and confidence, then go out there and perform like that, it goes a long way,” Nationals Manager Blake Butera said.
Read more NBC bumps Yankees-Red Sox to stay with golf as Scheffler forces playoff
García has always been confident in his hitting abilities, but that’s escalated to a new level this month. He’s focused more on pitch selection, laying off tough pitches. That hasn’t just aided his power: García has earned five walks in June after taking six in the first two-plus months of the season. He’s in a competition with catcher Keibert Ruiz to see who can walk more this season and currently has a five-walk lead.
“I think that’s also motivation to work on that,” García said.
The bullpen wasn’t perfect this series, but the unit did show improvement from the Phillies series.
On Friday, Brad Lord covered 2⅔ innings and allowed one run, though the offense went dry in a 3-1 loss. In Saturday’s 4-3 win, PJ Poulin and Orlando Ribalta each allowed a run in an eighth-inning blown save, but Clayton Beeter and Justin Lawrence put up zeroes in the ninth and 10th to help the Nationals secure the victory.
After Littell’s solid start Sunday, the bullpen was handed a 6-2 lead. Mitchell Parker retired the first five batters he faced on 19 pitches, but Jackson Holliday tagged him for a two-run homer to pull the Orioles within two.
Parker then walked Taylor Ward on four pitches, the velocity on his four-seam fastball dropping from 95.1 mph to 89.1 mph during the plate appearance. He was removed from the game and walked off the mound with a trainer. Butera said Parker felt elbow tightness, and the Nationals have not determined the next steps yet.
Richard Lovelady got the last out of the seventh, and PJ Poulin took the eighth, retiring the middle of the Orioles’ order on 13 pitches.
As part of the Nationals’ quest to find someone who can handle the ninth, they plan to give players opportunities in different roles. So Poulin, who is usually opening for Littell, was sent back out to finish the game for the fifth time this year.
He lived up to the moment. While he walked Coby Mayo with one out, he still faced the minimum — and secured his third save — after Leody Taveras grounded into a double play.
“He did a great job,” Butera said. “He was cool as can be, didn’t show any signs of nerves or being afraid or anything like that. He went out there and attacked hitters and did an outstanding job.”
Read more Freeman, Betts key big inning as Dodgers beat the Padres 4-2 to take 2 of 3 in the series
