Nationals Use Patient Approach, Back-to-Back Homers to Beat Blue Jays 8-6

The Washington Nationals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-6 Tuesday night at Nationals Park, building an early lead against Shane Bieber before holding off a late Toronto rally.

Washington scored four runs in a chaotic first inning, added back-to-back home runs from Luis García Jr. and Dylan Crews in the fourth and received six solid innings from Cade Cavalli. The Nationals evened the three-game series while earning their third victory in four games.

The Nationals did not overpower Bieber in the opening inning. Instead, they waited him out.

Bieber struggled badly with his command following an hour-long rain delay, walking six batters while recording only two outs. Washington turned one hit, six walks, a sacrifice fly and a defensive mistake into a four-run opening inning.

Daylen Lile and Keibert Ruiz each drew bases-loaded walks to force home the first two runs. Nasim Nuñez followed with a sacrifice fly that scored CJ Abrams, and Jacob Young worked another bases-loaded walk to extend Washington’s advantage to 4-0.

Toronto finally removed Bieber after Young’s walk. The former Cy Young Award winner allowed four runs on one hit and six walks over two-thirds of an inning, throwing the Blue Jays into an immediate bullpen game.

Bieber’s inability to find the strike zone became the defining sequence of the game. Washington did not chase pitches outside the zone or allow Bieber to escape by creating quick outs. The Nationals kept the inning moving and forced Toronto manager John Schneider to go to his bullpen much earlier than planned.

Brendon Little finally ended the inning and provided Toronto with valuable emergency relief. Little struck out the side in the second and kept the Nationals from immediately extending the lead.

The Blue Jays began cutting into the deficit during the third inning.

Nathan Lukes reached on a fielder’s choice before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a slow ground ball toward third. Jorbit Vivas made an errant throw, allowing Lukes to score from first and bringing Toronto within 4-1.

Toronto added another run in the fourth. Brandon Valenzuela opened the inning with a single, and Daulton Varsho doubled off the top of the right-center-field wall. Andrés Giménez then drove home Valenzuela with a groundout, trimming Washington’s lead to 4-2.

The Nationals answered immediately.

Brady House drew a walk against Mason Fluharty before García crushed a two-run home run beyond the right-field bullpen. Crews followed on the next pitch with a solo homer to left-center field, giving Washington back-to-back home runs and restoring a comfortable 7-2 advantage.

The quick response mattered because Toronto had begun to build momentum. García and Crews erased that momentum with two swings.

García finished with two hits, while House also collected two hits. Washington drew eight walks as a team and repeatedly took advantage of Toronto’s pitching mistakes.

Toronto continued fighting in the fifth when Kazuma Okamoto hit a solo home run. The blast was Okamoto’s 24th of the season, tying Eric Hinske’s Blue Jays rookie record.

Washington answered again in the bottom half. Two singles, a Toronto fielding error and a sacrifice fly pushed the Nationals’ lead back to five runs at 8-3.

That insurance run became increasingly important later in the game.

Cavalli delivered the type of outing Washington needed after its bullpen had been tested during recent games. The right-hander pitched six innings, allowing three runs — two earned — on six hits. Cavalli improved to 8-4 and earned his third consecutive victory.

Cavalli did not dominate every inning, but he limited the damage and protected Washington’s early lead. Toronto placed runners in scoring position several times, yet Cavalli avoided the type of crooked inning that could have changed the game.

The right-hander’s ability to complete six innings also helped the Nationals avoid exposing too much of the bullpen after Toronto forced Washington to work for the final nine outs.

The game tightened considerably in the eighth.

Lukes battled through an 11-pitch at-bat before lining a single. Okamoto then reached when Abrams committed an error, giving Toronto two runners aboard.

George Springer capitalized by driving a low fastball over the center-field fence for a three-run home run. The blast suddenly cut Washington’s lead to 8-6 and turned what had looked like a comfortable victory into a tense finish.

Springer’s homer highlighted one of Washington’s recurring concerns. The Nationals controlled the game for most of the night, but another late defensive mistake helped give the opponent additional life. Toronto did not create the entire rally through clean hits; Washington contributed to it.

The Nationals avoided a complete collapse.

Clayton Beeter entered for the ninth and retired the Blue Jays in order to secure the save. Toronto never brought the tying run to the plate during the final inning.

Washington finished with fewer hits than a typical eight-run performance might suggest, but the Nationals made their opportunities count. The club paired patient at-bats with timely power and sacrifice flies, scoring eight runs while drawing eight walks.

The Nationals also responded each time Toronto threatened. When the Blue Jays cut the lead to two in the fourth, García and Crews answered with consecutive home runs. When Okamoto homered in the fifth, Washington immediately restored the five-run advantage.

That ability to answer prevented Toronto from completely shifting the momentum until Springer’s eighth-inning homer.

The Blue Jays also suffered a potentially significant injury. Guerrero left the game with right hamstring tightness after reaching on an infield hit during the third inning. Okamoto replaced Guerrero and homered later in the game.

MSB Take

The Nationals won this game because they showed discipline before they showed power.

It would be easy to focus entirely on the back-to-back home runs from García and Crews, but Washington’s four-run first inning established the game. The Nationals recognized that Bieber did not have command and refused to help him escape.

Too often, young lineups become overly aggressive when a pitcher struggles. Hitters expand the strike zone because they want to deliver the big hit. Washington did the opposite. The Nationals trusted the next batter, accepted walks and allowed Toronto’s mistakes to produce runs.

That was mature offense.

The Nationals also received another encouraging start from Cavalli. Washington needs more than offensive production to remain competitive. The rotation must provide innings, and Cavalli gave the Nationals six solid frames while earning his third straight victory.

Cavalli appears increasingly comfortable handling major league lineups. The Blue Jays produced traffic against him, but Cavalli limited the damage and did not allow Toronto to erase Washington’s early lead.

The concern remains the late innings.

Washington led 8-3 entering the eighth and still allowed Toronto to turn the game into a save situation. Abrams’ error extended the inning before Springer’s three-run homer. Against stronger postseason-caliber teams, giving away extra outs in the late innings will eventually turn wins into losses.

The Nationals escaped Tuesday, but the defensive mistake and the bullpen tension cannot simply be ignored because the final score went in Washington’s favor.

Still, this was an important response after Monday’s narrow loss. The Nationals attacked Bieber’s control problems, answered every early Toronto rally and finished the job when the Blue Jays made their final push.

Washington does not need every victory to be perfect. The Nationals need to continue finding different ways to win.

On Tuesday, patience created the lead, power extended it and Beeter protected it.