Nationals bounce back behind Daylen Lile, beat Rockies 7-1 to earn series split
WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals finally got the response they needed Thursday afternoon.
After getting embarrassed 13-1 by the Colorado Rockies one day earlier, Washington came back with a much sharper performance and defeated Colorado 7-1 at Nationals Park to earn a split of the four-game series.
Daylen Lile led the way with three hits, including his 18th home run of the season, while Keibert Ruiz added a two-run homer. Brady House drove in two runs, and Washington’s bullpen delivered 4 2/3 scoreless innings after Jake Irvin battled through command problems.
The Nationals improved to 63-73 with the victory. Colorado fell to 52-82.
Nationals strike immediately
Washington did not wait around after Wednesday’s ugly loss.
CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews opened the bottom of the first inning with singles against Colorado starter Gabriel Hughes. A wild pitch advanced both runners before Lile dropped an RBI single into the outfield to score Abrams.
House then brought Crews home with a sacrifice fly, giving Washington a 2-0 advantage before Colorado could settle into the game.
That early production mattered.
The Nationals had been badly outplayed the previous night, and manager Blake Butera had questioned the team’s effort after the 13-1 defeat.
Thursday looked completely different.
Washington played with more energy, took advantage of opportunities and never trailed.
Irvin battles command problems
Jake Irvin did not have his best control, but he did enough to prevent Colorado from changing the game.
Irvin walked three of the first five Rockies he faced and eventually issued a season-high six walks. He also hit a batter.
Yet Colorado managed only one run against him.
Irvin finished with 4 1/3 innings pitched, allowing one run on three hits while striking out six. He threw 94 pitches, 53 for strikes.
Colorado had several opportunities to break through.
The Rockies loaded the bases in the third inning after Willi Castro was hit by a pitch and T.J. Rumfield and Troy Johnston drew walks. Brett Sullivan followed with an infield single that scored Castro and cut Washington’s lead to 2-1.
That was all Colorado would get.
Irvin repeatedly pitched himself into trouble and then found a way out of it.
Considering the way some of his recent starts have gone, allowing only one run despite six walks was an important result.
Nationals manufacture another run
Washington answered Colorado’s run in the fourth.
Jacob Young drew a walk and stole second. Jorbit Vivas followed with another walk, and Nasim Nuñez moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt.
Colorado then intentionally walked Abrams to load the bases.
Crews followed with a slow ground ball that barely traveled out of the dirt near home plate, but Young had enough time to score from third.
It was not a highlight-reel offensive play.
It did not need to be.
Washington extended its lead to 3-1 by putting pressure on Colorado and taking advantage of the situation.
Lile continues scorching August
Then came the biggest offensive story of the day.
Lile led off the fifth inning and drove a pitch from Hughes over the right-field wall for his 18th home run of the season.
The Statcast-projected 399-foot homer left the bat at 104.5 mph and stretched Washington’s advantage to 4-1.
Lile finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.
His performance capped an outstanding series.
Lile went 8-for-15 against Colorado with three home runs and eight RBI.
He has also become one of Washington’s hottest hitters.
Since Aug. 21, Lile is batting .429 with 12 hits in 28 at-bats, two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and seven runs scored. He has recorded four multi-hit games during that seven-game stretch.
That production is especially encouraging for a Nationals team trying to identify which young players can become long-term pieces.
Lile is making his case.
Bullpen shuts the door
Irvin’s command issues eventually forced Washington to go to the bullpen with one out in the fifth inning.
The relievers were outstanding.
Tom Cosgrove entered with runners on first and second and one out. He worked around a walk by recording two strikeouts to end the threat.
Cosgrove went on to throw 1 2/3 scoreless innings and earned the victory.
It was his first major league win since his debut on April 29, 2023 — a span of 89 appearances.
Erik Tolman, Clayton Beeter and Orlando Ribalta followed.
Combined, Washington’s bullpen threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
That may have been the most important part of the afternoon.
Irvin gave Colorado plenty of chances, but the Nationals pitching staff never allowed those opportunities to turn into a big inning.
Ruiz makes a huge defensive play
Colorado had another chance in the seventh.
After a walk and a single, Hunter Goodman came to the plate as a pinch hitter representing the tying run.
Before Goodman could even get going, Ruiz made a major defensive play.
After the first pitch, Ruiz fired behind Troy Johnston at first base and picked him off to end the inning.
The play completely erased Colorado’s threat.
It also became part of an excellent all-around game for Ruiz.
Washington breaks it open in the eighth
The Nationals finally put the game away in the eighth inning.
Lile singled and later scored on House’s RBI double, giving Washington a 5-1 lead.
Then Ruiz delivered the knockout blow.
Ruiz drove a two-run homer over the right-field wall off Jimmy Herget to make it 7-1.
It was Ruiz’s ninth home run of the season.
He has also been swinging the bat better lately, recording hits in 12 of his last 16 games.
Between the pickoff throw and the home run, Ruiz had an important impact on both sides of the game.
Jacob Young creates chaos
Young did not homer, but he was one of Washington’s most valuable offensive players Thursday.
He finished with a single, a double, a walk, two stolen bases and a run scored.
Young’s speed helped manufacture Washington’s third run in the fourth inning, and he remained a problem for Colorado whenever he reached base.
He has now recorded a hit in 13 of his last 19 games.
That type of performance is exactly what Washington wants from Young.
He does not need to hit for significant power to make an impact. His defense, speed and ability to create pressure on the bases give him value when he gets on base consistently.
Rockies waste opportunities
Colorado had chances.
A lot of them.
The Rockies drew nine walks and repeatedly put runners on base, but they went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners.
That was the difference.
Washington’s pitching was not dominant in a traditional sense.
The Nationals simply made pitches when they absolutely needed them.
Colorado loaded the bases multiple times but scored only once.
The two teams combined for 15 walks and stranded 25 runners overall.
That made the 7-1 final score look considerably more comfortable than portions of the game actually were.
Series ends in a split
Washington’s four-game series against Colorado was bizarre.
The Nationals dominated the opener 13-3.
Colorado won the second game 3-1.
The Rockies then crushed Washington 13-1 Wednesday.
Washington responded with Thursday’s 7-1 victory.
The end result was a 2-2 split.
For a Nationals team that had lost 12 of its previous 15 games entering Thursday, simply getting back into the win column mattered.
It was also Washington’s first victory in a game started by someone other than Cade Cavalli since Aug. 9.
That statistic says a lot about how difficult August has been.
Lile gives Nationals something to watch
Washington is not playing meaningful baseball in the standings right now.
The Nationals sit 17 games behind Atlanta in the National League East at 63-73.
That does not mean the final month is meaningless.
For a rebuilding team, September provides an opportunity to evaluate players who could become part of the next competitive Nationals roster.
Lile is quickly becoming one of the most interesting players in that group.
His recent hot streak is not just a two- or three-game run.
He is producing extra-base power, driving in runs and consistently putting together multi-hit games.
The Nationals need young hitters to separate themselves.
Lile is doing exactly that.
Marlins come to Washington next
The Nationals remain home and open a four-game series against the Miami Marlins Friday.
Rookie left-hander Jackson Kent is scheduled to make his fourth major league start for Washington. Kent enters the game 0-2 with an 8.03 ERA.
For Washington, the goal should be simple.
Build off Thursday.
The Nationals showed much better energy after Wednesday’s blowout loss, and several young players played important roles in the victory.
Now they have to make that kind of performance more consistent.
MSB Take
This was exactly the response the Nationals needed.
Losing games during a rebuilding season is one thing. Getting blown out 13-1 by another last-place club and looking lifeless while doing it is another.
Washington looked completely different Thursday.
The Nationals scored immediately. They ran the bases aggressively. They made defensive plays. Their bullpen shut the door. Most importantly, the young players who should matter going forward were responsible for a lot of it.
Daylen Lile was the biggest story.
Three more hits, another home run and two more RBI only add to what has become an excellent late-August run.
Washington needs players like Lile to give fans a reason to believe there is something worth building around.
Jacob Young also had a very good game, while Brady House drove in two runs and Keibert Ruiz contributed both offensively and defensively.
Jake Irvin is the complicated part of this one.
Six walks in 4 1/3 innings is not good enough. Against a better offensive team, those free passes probably become a much bigger problem.
But Irvin also deserves credit.
He did not have command, yet he kept fighting and allowed only one run. Sometimes a pitcher needs to figure out how to survive without his best stuff.
He did that.
Washington is not going to the postseason in 2026, so the remaining games have to be about progress.
Thursday showed some.
Now the Nationals need to keep showing it.
