The Nationals finally reached that mark with a 13-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles after 15 consecutive losses, when they were one game below .500.
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Washington Nationals Manager Blake Butera has downplayed the significance of reaching .500. He wants more, he’s said, and he thinks his team can do that.
Yet on Saturday, after the Nationals finally reached that mark with a 13-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles after 15 consecutive losses when they were one game below .500, Butera took a moment to acknowledge that milestone and the fans who have stuck by them.
It hasn’t been an easy five years as the team has undergone a seemingly never-ending rebuild. But now, in front of sold-out crowds on back-to-back nights, the Nationals are 23-23. And on Sunday, they have a chance not only to go for the sweep, but also to have a winning record on May 16 or later for the first time since 2021.
“Obviously, we want our record to be even better than .500,” Butera said. “It’s a cool accomplishment to get to .500 at this point in the season, playing the type of schedule we’ve played to this point. Hopefully, we can build off this.”
The Nationals accomplished this feat on Saturday with a complete, clean game for the second day in a row, a consistency that has been hard to come by for this team. Cade Cavalli pitched 6⅓ innings, allowing three runs while striking out eight. Keibert Ruiz had a career-high five RBIs and helped execute a double steal — a play, he said, of which he was especially proud. Brady House had two extra-base hits off the bench, becoming just the fifth player in Nationals history to do so.
And the defense not only escaped without committing any errors, but also put on a series of game-changing plays, including a stellar diving catch and throw from CJ Abrams, an extra-base hit robbery from Jacob Young and a sliding catch from Daylen Lile.
“Obviously, we’ve made some mistakes early on that we’ve been frustrated with and wanted to clean,” Butera said. “At some point, it’s going to click. It’s good to see a couple of games in a row where we put it all together.”
Cavalli shut the Orioles out for the first six innings, pitching into the seventh for the first time this season. His curveball and sweeper were both landing consistently in the strike zone, and his changeup and sinker were also working for him.
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It was in the seventh, though, that he started to run out of steam. Samuel Basallo and Tyler O’Neill hit back-to-back home runs, then Leody Taveras singled. Cavalli came close to giving up another — Coby Mayo sailed a ball just left of the foul pole, resulting in a lengthy review but not another run. Cavalli eventually got Mayo to strike out on a sweeper to end his day.
With PJ Poulin on the mound, the Orioles added one more run in the seventh to narrow the Nationals’ lead to 4-3.
The Nationals got offense early in the game from Ruiz on a three-run home run in the second inning and from Abrams, who doubled to drive in a run in the third. But, although they maintained a one-run lead, they needed a big inning to change the momentum back in the bottom of the seventh.
They did just that — and more. The Nationals scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh, nearly every hitter contributing as they batted around the order. Young homered, his fourth of the season. Nasim Nuñez and Ruiz pulled off a double steal. House doubled, and Joey Wiemer, James Wood, Lile and Abrams all found themselves on base.
By the time the inning ended, the Nationals had batted around their lineup and had an 11-3 lead.
“That’s one of the cooler innings of the year, I think,” Young said. “Just to be punched back in the mouth a little bit there, a lot of momentum, just a long inning in general. We got out of it with the lead, which was huge by the pitchers just to keep us in there, and then huge at-bat off the bench by Brady to get the momentum going, and then it kind of just spiraled from there.”
House added a two-run home run in the eighth to cap off the victory. The Nationals, at long last, are at .500.
“We win together, we lose together, we’re here every day together,” House said. “I would do anything for these guys, and I’m excited and proud to play with them.”
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