The middle infielder logged his first homer of the season, and Washington never looked back in a 10-2 win.
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BOSTON — Early in the second inning Wednesday afternoon, Nasim Nuñez smiled, hopping giddily. The Washington Nationals middle infielder thought he might have chipped one over Fenway Park’s Green Monster. The ball drifted barely foul, and he walked back, shaking his head.
So when he launched the ball again toward left field two innings later, he didn’t react until it landed 372 feet away, beyond the park’s green perimeter. By then, the Nationals’ dugout was revelrous as the 5-foot-8 Nuñez, known primarily for his defense, hit his first homer of the season.
The joy never subsided. His bomb opened what became a five-run fourth that chased Boston Red Sox starter Payton Tolle and made the difference — and then some — in the Nationals’ dominant 10-2 victory at Boston (37-48).
“I don’t try to hit homers,” Nuñez said nonchalantly. “They just happen.”
After a sluggish three-run opening game, Washington’s offense returned to its league-leading form, scoring 17 runs over its past 12 innings in this series. Tuesday night’s victory was a small comeback, given the Nationals (45-43) trailed until that fourth-inning clearing of the benches. The series clincher Wednesday was a beatdown from the start.
After notching two triples against the Kansas City Royals in mid-June, Nuñez broke out the Finding Nemo tune “just keep swimming.” His plate discipline had waned this year — his strikeout rate rising to 23.3 percent, the second-worst clip among Nationals players with at least 200 plate appearances.
He needed to push forward. Cue the Dory cosplay.
“I was like, I felt some homers coming,” he explained. “Usually the pattern is: I start hitting homers late July, so because I guess the season starts a little bit earlier now that we’re in the big leagues, [and] they come a little early.”
He’d been hitless in the series. But his homer showed off the depth that makes Washington’s offense such a consistent threat, its eighth batter capable of sparking a three-home-run afternoon.
After allowing two runs in the first, an Andrés Chapparo homer headlining, Tolle regained his command. But two innings later, he loaded the bases and departed for reliever Ryan Watson.
Nationals first baseman Luis García Jr. had registered only two hits so far this week after an MLB-leading six home runs last week. Missing out on the action, he laced a single into the Monster, scoring two. Center fielder Jacob Young, who hadn’t reached base since Friday, drove him García with a double.
By the time Washington’s offense slowed, Nuñez was back up to bat, still giggling. Wood later tacked on a three-run homer.
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“It’s nice because it lets everybody play with their hair down knowing they don’t have to put pressure on themselves to do it,” Nuñez said of Washington’s offense. “Because if they don’t get it done, they have faith the next person will.”
Among Washington’s other reasons for joy: Starter Brad Lord only went 2⅓ innings, with Andrew Alvarez replacing him and going 4 2/3. And the Nationals’ staff maintained the massive lead. In a week when two relievers — Mitchell Parker and Richard Lovelady — joined the 15-day injured list, the first likely in need of Tommy John surgery, signs of life from the bullpen were welcome.
“It was battle through nine,” Alvarez said. “Helped us get out of there, and thought I just did a good job of attacking.”
“We all feed off each other,” he continued.
One of the men called up to replace the injured, Riley Cornelio, walked in a run and allowed another to score in the eighth, struggling to keep his four-seam fastball near the zone. But he escaped the jam without any further damage, and the second replacement called up, Carson Palmquist, didn’t allow a run in the ninth.
With the injuries, Manager Blake Butera emphasized the need for his starters to go deep, saving arms as the Nationals consider their options with the trade deadline a month away. He found success the first two nights of the series, with Miles Mikolas and Cade Cavalli each stretching seven innings. The more notable was Cavalli, who registered 13 strikeouts in a Tuesday showing that was further dominated by his exchange with the Red Sox’s Willson Contreras.
Cavalli appeared to yell “sit down, boy” at the Boston star after a strikeout, Contreras moved toward the mound, and the fracas ensued. He and Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni apologized for the exchange before Wednesday’s game.
“I couldn’t sleep because of it,” Cavalli said. “You learn from that, and it’ll never happen again.”
Yet a hefty win, spurred by Nuñez’s joyful spark, seemed to ease some of the tension.
Notes: Nationals top prospect shortstop Eli Willits was selected for the MLB All-Star Futures game, alongside righty Miguel Sime Jr.
Willits, the team’s top pick in 2025, is hitting .287, with 12 home runs, 50 RBI and 67 runs with low Class A Fredericksburg and high Class A Wilmington this season. Sime leads the entirety of the minors with 16.69 strikeouts per nine innings.
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