The Washington Nationals had a chance to do something that has been a pretty rare occasion over the last few years on Wednesday afternoon. Coming into the contest 2 games over .500, the Nationals were staring a series sweep of the Cleveland Guardians in the face, but ultimately came up a bit short.
In fact, the tying run in the 9th inning got into scoring position after CJ Abrams stole second base, but Jorbit Vivas took one right down the middle to end the game after clearly being caught off guard. Although the game itself was a loss, to come that close to sweeping the team currently leading the American League Central, the Nationals have to hold their heads high going back to Washington.
The offense, which became the first team to exceed 300 runs scored in 2026 on Tuesday afternoon, mostly fell flat, as the team managed just 5 hits and only 2 walks, yet narrowly lost by a score of 3-2. CJ Abrams had 2 of the team's 5 hits, and the pitching staff only allowed 1 earned run.
Elsewhere throughout the lineup, Drew Millas added a knock, James Wood added a double and a walk, and Curtis Mead added a base hit in the 9th to help start the final rally that came up just a bit short. Unfortunately for manager Blake Butera's squad, the team once again showed that they still have room to grow, in that they had a team on the ropes with a sweep opportunity and came up short.
PJ Poulin opened the game and did not allow a run before giving way to Miles Mikolas for 3.2 innings, although he allowed just 2 unearned runs in that time. He struck out only 1 batter before giving way to Richard Lovelady, who was surprisingly roughed up for one of the first times this season.
The remainder of the game was handled by righties Orlando Ribalta, Clayton Beeter, and Gus Varland, in that order, who all managed to put up zeroes in their respective innings. As the Nationals head back to Washington, the flight should hopefully still be a slightly happy one, as nobody would have expected the Nationals to walk into Cleveland and take a series from a team like the Guardians.
What do you think of the Nationals coming up short in their quest for a series sweep of the Guardians? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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