Instant Analysis: Nats 6, Royals 4

Behind the all-around play of Nasim Nuñez and a late three-run homer from Curtis Mead, the Nationals won their fourth straight at home

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

The best answer for a shaky bullpen? An offense that can pick the team right back up and make blown leads a mere blip on the radar.

Despite giving up their lead to the Royals in the top of the seventh tonight, the Nationals immediately responded to re-take the lead in the bottom of the inning thanks to Curtis Mead’s three-run homer. And when the back of the bullpen managed to hang on through the eighth and ninth, the Nats emerged with another victory, improving to four games over .500 and 9-1-1 over their last 11 series.

They took a 3-1 lead into the seventh thanks to six strong innings from Foster Griffin and the offensive exploits of Nasim Nuñez, who became the seventh player in club history to record two triples in one game. But when Orlando Ribalta put two runners on base and Richard Lovelady allowed both to score, the game reached the seventh-inning stretch tied.

No problem, because the highest-scoring offense in the majors was ready to strike within minutes. Nuñez ignited the rally with a leadoff walk, a hustle play to beat shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to second base on James Wood’s grounder and a successful steal of third. Pinch-hitter Andrés Chaparro also walked, setting the stage for Mead to launch a three-run homer to the picnic tables in left-center to put the home team in position to win its fourth straight game.

Gus Varland did make things interesting in the top of the ninth, allowing a leadoff homer to Lane Thomas that cut the lead to two runs, then walking Witt to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. But the right-hander settled down after that, inducing a double-play grounder and ultimately the save before an appreciative crowd of 25,053.

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: Nuñez obviously had a great night, with a pair of triples, a walk, a stolen base, an aggressive baserunning play and an outstanding play in the field. But that was all merely a precursor to Mead’s big blast in the seventh. Just when it looked like the Nationals might hand the game to the Royals, Mead corralled it right back with his three-run shot to left-center. It was his 11th homer of the season (seventh in his last 21 games) and it further solidified his position as one of the most-trusted members of the best lineup in baseball. When the ball left his bat tonight, the crowd roared like it hasn’t around here in a while.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: This wasn’t necessarily Griffin at his absolute sharpest. The Royals put multiple runners on base in four of his six innings, and that drove up his pitch count a bit. But the left-hander was plenty effective when he needed to be, getting himself out of jams with minimal damage. He turned to his breaking balls when he needed swings and misses, inducing 10 of them on sweepers and curveballs alone. And when he finished off a scoreless top of the sixth on 15 pitches (all of them strikes), the former Royals first-round pick walked off the mound with yet another quality start for his new club. He’s got his ERA down to 3.32. But just as was the case last week in San Francisco when he also allowed one run over six innings on 100 pitches … Griffin did not emerge with a win.

NOTABLE: Wood now has 48 RBI this season, putting him on a 105-RBI pace. The MLB record for RBI by a leadoff hitter is 107 by Mookie Betts in 2023.

UP NEXT: The series wraps up Wednesday with a 1:05 p.m. matinee. Zack Littell is the Nats’ announced starter (they could still decide to use an opener, of course). Right-hander Luinder Avila starts for Kansas City. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM