Nationals Rally Past Angels 6-5 to Complete Three-Game Sweep
The Washington Nationals completed one of their better weekends of the season Sunday afternoon, rallying for four runs in the eighth inning to beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 at Nationals Park. Washington trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the eighth before Daylen Lile, Jorbit Vivas, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews all played major roles in a decisive comeback. The victory completed a three-game sweep and improved the Nationals to 70-81.
Washington had spent much of the afternoon trying to keep pace after Los Angeles used the long ball to establish control. Moises Ballesteros and Zach Neto each homered, while Mike Trout reached base three times with a double and two walks. The Angels took a two-run lead into the eighth before their bullpen collapsed under pressure.
Angels Strike First With Power
The Angels broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Ballesteros drove a pitch 407 feet to center field for his ninth home run of the season. The solo shot gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead and provided the first significant offensive moment of the afternoon. Washington had created some traffic earlier but had not been able to turn it into runs.
Los Angeles added to the lead one inning later when Neto crushed his 26th home run of the season. Neto’s 440-foot drive to center made it 2-0 and temporarily put the Angels in control. Washington needed a response before the game began slipping away.
The Nationals finally produced that response in the sixth. CJ Abrams hustled for a double and later scored on a Yohandy Morales single to center, while Lile followed with another hit and Keibert Ruiz was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Pinch hitter Brady House then brought Morales home on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 2-2.
Washington Creates Its Own Trouble
The tie did not last because Washington gave Los Angeles an opening in the eighth inning. Neto and Wade Meckler drew walks, and Vaughn Grissom appeared to hit what could have been a double-play ground ball. Abrams mishandled the play at shortstop, however, loading the bases and extending the inning.
The Angels quickly took advantage of the mistake. Neto scored on a wild pitch, and Ballesteros followed with a sacrifice fly that brought home another run to give Los Angeles a 4-2 lead. Neither run required an Angels hit, making the inning particularly frustrating for a Washington team that had fought back to tie the game.
At that point, Washington could have folded after watching a defensive mistake and command issues erase the momentum it had built. Instead, the Nationals responded with their best offensive inning of the game. That response ultimately became the difference between a frustrating loss and a three-game sweep.
Four-Run Eighth Changes Everything
Lile started the comeback with one of the biggest swings of the afternoon. He drove an RBI triple off the wall in right-center field, cutting the deficit to 4-3 and immediately putting more pressure on Angels reliever Luke Murphy. Lile finished the game with two hits and continued to show why Washington believes he can be an important part of its young core.
Washington then turned to Vivas off the bench, and he delivered exactly what the Nationals needed. Vivas singled home the tying run, making it 4-4 and keeping the rally alive. The Nationals had suddenly erased the Angels’ two-run advantage before Los Angeles could record enough outs to stop the inning.
Young followed with the go-ahead hit, driving a double into the left-center gap that put Washington in front. Crews then added an important insurance run with an RBI single that scored Young and stretched the lead to 6-4. That final run proved critical once Los Angeles mounted one last rally in the ninth.
Nationals Finish the Job
The Angels refused to go quietly in the ninth inning. Josh Lowe opened the frame with a double and eventually scored on a Christian Moore groundout, trimming Washington’s lead to 6-5. Suddenly, the Nationals were again trying to protect a one-run lead against an Angels team that had already shown late-game life throughout the weekend.
Jack Sinclair handled the pressure. He struck out Neto to end the game and recorded the first save of his major-league career. Erik Tolman earned his first major-league victory after working in relief earlier in the game.
The final out completed a sweep that looked far from certain when Washington trailed in the eighth. The Nationals had now won three consecutive games after entering the series on a seven-game losing streak. For a young team playing out the final weeks of the season, the ability to respond to adversity and finish close games provided an encouraging sign.
Young Core Leads the Offense
Washington received contributions from several of the players it hopes will form the foundation of the next competitive Nationals team. Lile, Abrams, Morales and James Wood each finished with two hits, giving Washington production from multiple spots in the lineup. The Nationals did not need one player to carry the offense because their young hitters continued passing the pressure from one at-bat to the next.
Abrams’ speed helped create Washington’s first run, while Morales drove him home and later scored the tying run in the sixth. Lile then delivered the triple that started the eighth-inning comeback, and Young produced the eventual game-winning hit. Crews added the insurance run Washington ended up needing in the ninth.
Those contributions matter even when Washington is no longer playing meaningful postseason baseball. The Nationals need September to be about identifying which young players can handle pressure situations and which pieces should remain central to the club’s plans. Sunday’s comeback offered several encouraging examples.
Angels Waste Another Opportunity
Los Angeles had multiple chances to avoid being swept. Ballesteros and Neto both homered, Trout reached base three times and the Angels carried a two-run advantage into the eighth inning. Yet their bullpen could not protect the lead.
Murphy was charged with four runs on four hits during his inning of work. Washington attacked him aggressively once the rally started and never allowed the right-hander to settle down. By the time Los Angeles finally stopped the damage, the Nationals had turned a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead.
The defeat dropped the Angels to 56-93 and concluded a difficult nine-game road trip at 3-6. Los Angeles did enough offensively to win Sunday’s game, but the bullpen and late-game execution prevented the club from salvaging the series finale.
Nationals Complete the Sweep
The sweep became even more notable because all three games required Washington to respond in difficult late-game situations. The Nationals opened the series with a 4-3 victory Friday and followed with a 6-5 extra-inning win Saturday. Sunday’s 6-5 comeback gave Washington its third consecutive one-run victory over the Angels.
That is valuable experience for a roster featuring so many young players. Winning three close games in three days requires more than talent because players must execute under pressure and recover quickly from mistakes. Washington did exactly that throughout the weekend.
The Nationals improved to 70-81 and are now trying to finish the season with momentum. A winning record is no longer realistic, but finishing strongly can still matter for a young roster and coaching staff attempting to establish expectations for 2027. This weekend represented a significant improvement from the seven-game losing streak that preceded it.
MSB Take
The most encouraging part of this victory was not simply that Washington won another game. It was the way the Nationals responded after essentially giving the Angels two runs in the eighth inning. Abrams committed an error, Washington allowed another run on a wild pitch and suddenly a tie game became a 4-2 deficit.
Young teams can allow an inning like that to ruin the rest of the afternoon, but Washington did the opposite. Lile tripled, Vivas delivered off the bench, Young produced the go-ahead double and Crews added what became the decisive insurance run. Four runs in one inning against a team trying to protect a late lead showed composure that Washington needs to see from this group.
There are still plenty of issues for the Nationals to address, especially on the pitching side and with overall consistency. However, there is something meaningful about seeing Abrams, Lile, Wood, Morales, Young and Crews all contribute during the same game. Washington is trying to build around young talent, and this was exactly the kind of afternoon that gives the organization something positive to take into the final weeks.
Completing a three-game sweep after entering the weekend on a seven-game losing streak also says something about the clubhouse. The Nationals could have coasted through September, but instead they fought through three close games and found a different way to win each one. That does not erase the struggles of the season, but it gives Washington another glimpse of what this roster could eventually become.
