For six innings, this looked like a taut, low-scoring game at a park built for the opposite. Then the seventh inning arrived, and the Washington Nationals turned a one-run lead into an 8-0 rout of the Colorado Rockies, aided by a string of Colorado errors that turned a comfortable win into a laugher.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 1 |
| COL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
Cade Cavalli set the tone from the mound, working six scoreless innings while allowing four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. He did not factor into the late scoring outburst directly, but his effort kept the Rockies off the board long enough for the Nationals' offense to find its footing. Washington's bullpen finished the job, with two relievers combining for three scoreless innings behind him.
The Nationals broke the tie first in the fifth, when James Wood's sacrifice fly to center brought home Jorbit Vivas for a 1-0 lead. The floodgates opened in the seventh. Nuñez singled to left, and Lile and Vivas both scored, with Vivas crossing on a fielding error by left fielder Moniak, making it 3-0. Moments later, García Jr. homered to center, a 421-foot shot that scored Nuñez to push the lead to 5-0. The inning kept rolling as Crews singled to center, and Tena scored on an error and Abrams scored on a throwing error by center fielder Carrigg, with Crews reaching third on yet another throwing error, this one by catcher Sullivan, making it 7-0. Washington tacked on one more in the eighth when Nuñez singled again, driving in Ruiz to complete the 8-0 final.
Colorado starter G. Hughes did not have a bad night on paper, working five innings and allowing just 1 run on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts, but he was saddled with the loss as the Rockies bullpen unraveled behind him, allowing 7 runs in 4.0 innings. Colorado's offense could not solve Cavalli or the Washington relief corps, managing six hits but no runs across nine innings. Mickey Moniak and Cole Carrigg each went hitless in the loss, part of a lineup that never found any traction.
The loss dropped Colorado to 41-63, extending a difficult stretch as the club sits fifth in its division. Washington improved to 52-51 with the win, snapping out of its funk with a strong all-around showing on both sides of the ball.