Instant Analysis: Nats 10, Guardians 2

Behind six home runs and a strong outing by Zack Littell, the Nationals won big in Cleveland and surpassed the .500 mark

Photo by Serena Brown / ALL-PRO REELS

Hey, D.C.: You’ve got a winning baseball team again.

Behind an onslaught of offense that included six home runs, the Nationals ran away with tonight’s series opener in Cleveland and improved to 28-27. It’s the first time in five years they’ve owned a winning record past mid-May.

After scrapping for every run they could manage over the weekend in Atlanta, the Nats came out on fire tonight against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee. James Wood led off the game with a no-doubt homer to right-center. Two batters later, Curtis Mead launched a two-run shot to left, making it 3-0 before they made an out.

And they didn’t stop. Jacob Young and Luis Garcia Jr. each homered in the second to make it 6-0. CJ Abrams went deep in the top of the third. And when Mead did it again in the fifth, the Nationals had themselves a six-homer night before the game was even half-complete.

Handed all that run support, the pitching staff enjoyed a nice and easy night on the mound. PJ Poulin went two innings as the opener, allowing one run. Zack Littell then took over as the bulk guy and churned out a season-high seven innings of one-run ball to complete the game and give most of the bullpen a well-deserved breather.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: Yes, Wood got things started with his fourth leadoff homer of the season and finished with four hits. Yes, Garcia singled, doubled and homered and only needed a triple for the cycle. And yes, Young hit his fifth homer in 17 games and is now on a 20-homer pace for the season. But the star of the night was Mead, who is really starting to come into his own. His first homer tonight capped a seven-pitch at-bat and was caught by a fan in the left-field bleachers wearing an Australia T-shirt. His second homer came on an 0-2 breaking ball and was crushed down the line. The 25-year-old continues to make the case he’s more than a platoon player, as evidenced by the fact his OPS against right-handers is actually higher than it is against lefties. At this point, he deserves to be the Nationals’ near-everyday third baseman.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: Sure, he had the benefit of pitching with a big lead, but let’s not discount what Littell did tonight. And what he’s done for the better part of a month now. The right-hander completed six innings for only the second time this season. (And in that previous instance, he gave up eight runs over those six innings.) After an abysmal opening month that ended with a 7.84 ERA, Littell has now delivered a 2.19 ERA in five May appearances.

QUOTABLE: “These guys rise to the occasion every time. The late nights, the early turnarounds, now we’re about to get on a flight and get into Cleveland late and turn around and play again tomorrow in the middle of 16 in a row. These guys don’t complain. They love playing baseball. And it makes it that much more fun as a staff and as a group when these guys don’t complain and don’t make excuses. They could easily make some excuses after all the stuff that’s happened this weekend. Extra-inning games, a bunch lately, I think we’ve played nine already this year. The rain delays that shut it down and started it back up again. There’s a lot of reasons these guys could make excuses, and they don’t. They love playing baseball.” – Blake Butera, after Sunday night’s win in Atlanta

NOTABLE: The Nationals acquired left-hander Carson Palmquist from the Rockies in exchange for cash considerations. Palmquist, who was immediately optioned to Triple-A Rochester, made seven starts (nine appearances) for Colorado last season, going 0-4 with an 8.91 ERA. He had been pitching this season at Triple-A Albuquerque, where he was 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA over 25 innings. Needing to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Palmquist, the Nats transferred right-hander Max Kranick (who is recovering from elbow surgery) to the 60-day IL.

UP NEXT: The Nats will look to make it four in a row when they take the field again Tuesday at 6:10 p.m., with Cade Cavalli facing left-hander Joey Cantillo. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM