Following a 1-8 road trip, a 13-3 blowout was just what the doctor ordered.
To get back in the win column following a brutal road swing, the Washington Nationals needed a little bit of help. Enter the Colorado Rockies’ defense.
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After being no-hit in the first four innings of Monday’s series opener, the Nationals capitalized on two errors and several more missed plays from the Rockies as they scored five runs in the fifth inning. That inning brought their offense back to life, and they went on to a commanding 13-3 win at Nationals Park.
“Just one small mistake on their end ended up being huge,” Manager Blake Butera said. “We were able to take advantage of that and capitalize, I think that’s what good teams do. I was happy we could continue to roll with that momentum.”
After the Nationals completed a 1-8, three-city road trip, they snapped a four-game losing streak Monday and got a confidence boost to start a 10-game homestand. Daylen Lile and Jorbit Vivas each had three hits, while every batter reached base multiple times.
“We all know we’ve gone through a little bit, or a lot a bit,” Butera said. “The message after yesterday’s game was let yesterday and the past several weeks sink in a little bit, take some time to digest but once we get back here, the page turns to Monday. Back here at home, we need to be ready to go and have some fun and get back to playing our game and winning some games.”
It helped, too, having CJ Abrams back in the lineup after he rolled his ankle last week and missed four games. He did not play in the field and did not take any grounders at second base — his new position — during batting practice, but he was able to run the bases well enough to hit. It was sore after the game, he said, and he had trouble changing directions quickly.
His limited presence was still felt: Abrams walked, had a hit, scored two runs and stole two bases. With 29 homers and 26 steals, he’s now just the second player in Nationals history — after Alfonso Soriano in 2006 — with at least 25 of each in a single season.
“It’s cool,” Abrams said of the accomplishment. “Just keep going, the season is not over and we have a little bit to go.”
Cade Cavalli, who’s in the best stretch of his career, twirled his ninth quality start in a row. He allowed just two runs in six innings — solo shots from Willi Castro and Ezequiel Tovar — and struck out seven batters.
The Rockies led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. After the Nationals scored 20 runs and were shut out twice on their nine-game road swing, that may have felt borderline insurmountable.
In the dugout in between innings, the team encouraged each other to bring the energy level up. Then the pieces started to fall in their favor.
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Jacob Young opened the inning with a soft line drive that shortstop Tovar dove for but couldn’t snag, the team’s first hit off Rockies starter Ryan Feltner. Jorbit Vivas followed with a single. Nasim Nuñez squared up a bunt that a drawn-in Castro snagged at third and fired past Connor Norby at first base. Young and Vivas scored on the throwing error to tie the game, while Nuñez made it all the way to third.
Abrams then grounded a double just inside the first base line, driving in Nuñez to give the Nationals the lead. Abrams stole third base, his second steal of the game, and scored on a groundout from Abimelec Ortiz.
Later in the inning, Daylen Lile hit a double of his own. As he was attempting to steal third, catcher Brett Sullivan’s throw glanced off the top of Brady House’s bat and sailed into left field, giving Lile plenty of time to round home to make it 5-2.
“It was a little bit low energy to start the game,” Cavalli said. “Sure enough, in the fifth, it all just kind of happened. We popped off. I just wanted to go back out there for the sixth and try to shut it down and give the guys some energy for the guys coming in after me.”
Sure enough, that’s what Cavalli did, retiring the side on 11 pitches. The offense kept pounding from there. They added on three more runs in the sixth, on a bases-loaded walk by Dylan Crews and a two-run single by Lile, both with two outs.
Already ahead 8-2, the Nationals kept going. In the seventh inning, with Blake Adams making his MLB debut for the Rockies, Keibert Ruiz hit a single, followed by a double from Young. Vivas blooped a fastball to shallow center, his third hit of the day, to give the Nationals a 10-spot.
After the Nationals got one back off Clayton Beeter in the eighth inning, Lile put an exclamation point on the day with a three-run homer. For Washington’s struggling offense, it sure felt good to be home.
Notes: James Wood, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 4 with a left oblique strain, threw out to 120 feet and hit off the tee. Both are positive signs that he is progressing in his rehab, but there is still no timeline for his return.
Josiah Gray is scheduled to make his second rehab appearance Tuesday with high Class A Wilmington as he continues his journey back from Tommy John surgery and the flexor strain that followed.
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