As afternoon gave way to Thursday evening, after Chris Sale walked back-to-back batters, induced a flyout and exited to a standing ovation from the visiting fans, the Washington Nationals scored eight runs between the fifth and sixth innings, each of them needed to hold off the Boston Red Sox and win another series.
In the Nationals’ five-run fifth, Joey Meneses split the left-center gap with a double, Stone Garrett capped an RBI double with an elusive slide, then Riley Adams drove in two with a bloop single to left. Before the rally was through, all nine Washington Nationals came to the plate. Most of them chipped in. Patrick Corbin, meanwhile, yielded one run in six innings, striking out four of the last six batters he faced (and six overall).
By beating the Red Sox, 10-7, the Nationals did something far greater than any hit or pitch: They pushed their record to 55-67, matching their win total from a dismal 2022. And they still have 40 games to play.
“I love what I’m seeing, I love the way we’re playing, I love the way our young guys are stepping up,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “Our starting pitching is giving us a chance to win some games and our bullpen has been really good. I’m proud of these guys.”
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Back in spring training, a common prediction, at least among coaches and front-office members, was a roughly eight-win improvement for the Nationals. They figured the rotation would take a step forward. They liked Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Mason Thompson in the bullpen. And though they expected more power from Dominic Smith and Meneses — not to mention Corey Dickerson, who was released after the trade deadline — their record projections have proved conservative.
To lose 100 games again, the Nationals would have to finish 7-33 or worse. It’s very hard to see that happening, especially with how well they’ve played since the middle of July, winning six of their last eight series. In that span, CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz, two keys of the emerging core, have often led the way.
Since moving to the leadoff spot six weeks ago, Abrams, 22, has a .789 OPS and 22 steals. He pinch-hit in the eighth Thursday, was hit by a pitch and then stole second and third before Garrett drove him in. Ruiz entered with 13 hits and four homers in his past nine starts, including a walk-off shot against the Oakland Athletics. The 25-year-old, who DH’d in the finale for a short break from catching, has spent the whole second half on fire, continuing with a first-inning double off Sale. Ruiz logged three hits and reached in all five of his plate appearances.
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The kids are showing up, then they’re showing out. But it’s taken more than that to turn a small corner.
“Hopefully some of these guys realize we can compete with anybody,” said Corbin, who issued zero walks after walking seven in his previous start. “If we just play solid defense, pitch the way we can, put up some runs when we can, do the little things and not beat ourselves, we’ve been in a lot of games. We could have won a lot more, I think. Hopefully these are things that everybody in this clubhouse are learning from.”
The third inning was one example: Jeter Downs, a former top prospect for the Red Sox, revved the Nationals with his legs and eyes. He started at shortstop on a scheduled rest day for Abrams and drew a walk from Sale to start the third, stole second and ran to third on a throwing error by catcher Connor Wong. A batter later, Meneses bounced a grounder that third baseman Rafael Devers couldn’t handle, bringing Downs home to knot the game at 1.
The five-run fifth was more of the same. After Sale walked Alex Call, Downs stayed patient while trying to put down a sacrifice bunt. He laid off Sale’s first three pitches, two of which might have been strikes. But after the fifth, a fastball near the bottom edge of the zone, Downs jogged to first again.
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So once Meneses roped Josh Winckowski’s cutter to left-center, Downs took off sprinting, ending the play with a headfirst slide at home. Ruiz followed by reaching on a grounder bobbled by second baseman Luis Urías. Garrett, another surging hitter, followed with an RBI double to left. Adams, owner of a .927 OPS in limited chances, followed with a two-run RBI single, his second hit of the day.
Meneses, a former Red Sox minor leaguer, logged five RBI. Garrett collected three. And as it turned out, the Nationals needed every bit of the offense to edge a team in the American League wild-card race.
An inning later, Downs singled with one down and Lane Thomas took a six-pitch walk. That’s when Meneses lined another two-run double, splitting the same gap, pulling in to second with the same easy glide across the infield dirt. After Ruiz singled, Garrett, making his sixth start in as many games, skied a sacrifice fly to center that scored Meneses. The insurance helped muffle Boston’s two homers off lefty Robert Garcia in the seventh: a grand slam for Urías, then a two-run blast for Devers into the second deck in right.
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No matter, Andrés Machado, Harvey and Finnegan took care of the rest, just like Washington drew it up in February.
“You know, it was definitely a tough beginning for us this season,” Meneses said in Spanish through a team interpreter, also admitting it felt good to excel against a club that never promoted him past Class AAA. “Thank god that this last month, we’ve been playing a lot better. We just feel a lot more confident out there in everybody’s ability.”
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