{"id":3698,"date":"2026-06-14T12:34:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3698"},"modified":"2026-06-14T12:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:34:46","slug":"a-small-break-and-a-big-swing-help-nationals-avoid-a-skid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3698","title":{"rendered":"A small break and a big swing help Nationals avoid a skid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luis Garc\u00eda Jr.\u2019s two-run shot ignited an 8-3 win over the Mariners after the Washington Nationals suffered two rough losses.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more To play in the UFL title game, he just needed to ask for the day off<\/a><\/p>\n

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Luis Garc\u00eda Jr., right, hit a long homer after James Wood, left, hit a soft single. (Jess Rapfogel\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Washington Nationals needed a break. They had already gotten one in the first inning Saturday, when a Seattle Mariners error led to three runs. But with the game tied in the fifth and the Nationals looking to avoid a third straight loss, they needed something else to go their way.<\/p>\n

It came in the bottom of the fifth inning. James Wood hit a soft liner the opposite way that went off the glove of Mariners third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni. That single opened an opportunity for Luis Garc\u00eda Jr., who took full advantage by taking a changeup 408 feet to right-center field. The home run gave the Nationals a 5-3 lead, shifting the momentum and the Nationals Park crowd back in their favor and sending them on their way to an 8-3 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was massive,\u201d starter Cade Cavalli said. \u201cYou could feel it in the stadium like, \u2018We\u2019re going to go win this game.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no such thing as a must-win game in June. But for a Nationals team fighting to stay above .500, this was as close to that situation as any they have faced this season. Following Wednesday\u2019s walk-off devastation in San Francisco and Friday\u2019s blowout loss to Seattle, the Nationals put together a complete game, with the starting pitcher, bullpen, offense and defense all doing their jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a good battle out there,\u201d Manager Blake Butera said. \u201cI thought our guys played really, really well in all facets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s win started with a strong foundation. In the first inning, Garc\u00eda Jr. reached on an errant throw by first baseman Josh Naylor. CJ Abrams drove him in with a two-out single. Daylen Lile followed with an RBI triple, then scored on a single from Dylan Crews.<\/p>\n

Armed with a 3-0 lead, Cavalli cruised through the first four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five. In the fifth, things got away from him. He hit Dominic Canzone with a sweeper to open the inning. With two outs, Mitch Garver hit an RBI single to get the Mariners on the board.<\/p>\n

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Cade Cavalli was charged with three runs in five innings, with all of the damage coming in the fifth. (Jess Rapfogel\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Cavalli was close to getting out of the inning, getting ahead 0-2 against Colt Emerson, but Emerson is a 20-year-old phenom for a reason. Cavalli sent him a 98-mph fastball up and in. He located it exactly where he wanted it to, but Emerson was still able to turn on it for a two-run homer to tie the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put a good swing on it,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201cI executed it. I had full conviction in it, and sometimes they get it. I can go lie my head down on my pillow tonight and know I executed it, gave my all, and we had a chance to win the game. I\u2019m pleased with today.\u201d<\/p>

Read more To UFC fighters, the White House\u2019s small, swampy octagon is the perfect venue<\/a><\/p>\n

Washington responded right away, with Garc\u00eda\u2019s long ball restoring the lead. The crowd, which had quieted after the top half of the inning, was right back in it. So was the Nationals\u2019 dugout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was exactly what we needed at the right time, and we were all pumped,\u201d Butera said.<\/p>\n

With Cavalli\u2019s day over after five innings, PJ Poulin (recalled Saturday from Class AAA Rochester), Orlando Ribalta, Richard Lovelady and Brad Lord held the Mariners scoreless the rest of the way. It wasn\u2019t always smooth sailing \u2014 Lovelady did have to pitch himself out of a bases-loaded jam \u2014 but they executed when they needed to.<\/p>\n

In the seventh, the Nationals put the game away, scoring three more runs on singles from Abrams and Jos\u00e9 Tena and an errant pickoff attempt.<\/p>\n

With another victory Sunday, the Nationals have a chance to salvage the weekend and claim another series win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings didn\u2019t go our way the last couple of days, but one thing that sticks out about this team is we never give up,\u201d Garc\u00eda said through an interpreter. \u201cWe work hard every day to win games, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s a 162-game season. We can\u2019t let ourselves think and get into your head and let it ruin the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: <\/b>Riley Cornelio was optioned to Class AAA after he pitched 4\u2153 innings in Friday\u2019s game. The righty allowed three runs and has a 6.48 ERA in his three MLB appearances.<\/p>\n

Poulin was recalled as the corresponding move to give the Nationals another left-handed option.<\/p>

Read more Rod Brind\u2019Amour\u2019s Hurricanes 60 minutes from a Cup, with Vegas still daring a Game 7<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luis Garc\u00eda Jr.\u2019s two-run shot ignited an 8-3 win over the Mariners after the Washington Nationals suffered two rough losses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nA small break and a big swing help Nationals avoid a skid - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3698\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A small break and a big swing help Nationals avoid a skid - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Luis Garc\u00eda Jr.\u2019s two-run shot ignited an 8-3 win over the Mariners after the Washington Nationals suffered two rough losses.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3698\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T12:34:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/64063a59d291e166fbe9d702ddd964ad-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"A small break and a big swing help Nationals avoid a skid\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-14T12:34:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698\"},\"wordCount\":854,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/80f99f7425b7c8135b6efebc879eb4ca-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=3698\",\"name\":\"A small break and a big swing help Nationals avoid a skid - 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