The Nationals finally got their first walk-off win of 2026, and it came with Dylan Crews delivering the swing that ended it.
Washington outlasted the Miami Marlins 5-4 in 10 innings on Caturday, with Crews lining the walk-off single after the bases were loaded. That gave the Nats a rare finish to celebrate after 137 games without a walk-off victory this season.
The payoff came with a bit of irony. Earlier in the game, Crews couldn’t glove a 2-out flyout in the right-field gap that allowed two runs to score. By the end, he was the one standing at the center of the celebration when Washington needed only a single to win.
The crowd at Nationals Park was 32,055 for Caturday and James Wood bobblehead day, and the setting matched the matchup on the mound. Cade Cavalli started for Washington against former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, giving the game a true ace-versus-ace feel.
For a while, Cavalli looked the part. He was throwing a no-hit, scoreless game through 4.0 innings before a 93.1 mph comebacker struck his calf muscle and forced him out with Washington ahead 4-0. The Nationals are calling it a contusion.
Cavalli finished with a 3.12 ERA, which currently ranks 14th among qualified starters in baseball. He is scheduled to work on an extra day of rest in Los Angeles against the Dodgers on Friday if his calf is better by then.
Washington also lived through its 34th blown save of the season, the most in the Majors. Even so, the Nats did not end up losing because of it. The bigger question was whether the game might have unfolded differently in the top of the seventh with a 4-0 lead.
Manager Blake Butera had a full bench and Jacob Young available, but stayed with Crews in center field, Daylen Lile in right field, and Jose Tena in left field. The decision left room to wonder about the defensive alignment, though Crews ultimately erased any second-guessing by coming through at the plate when it mattered most.
The win pushed the Nationals to a three-game winning streak, and Andrew Alvarez is lined up to start the early Sunday game tomorrow in the Peacock Nationals Sunday noon matchup.
In Other News...
Dylan Crews May Have Just Sparked The Nationals' Biggest Turnaround Hope
Dylan Crews has been building toward a moment like this since the Nationals made him the No. 2 overall pick in 2023, and it finally arrived in a game Washington needed to have. The club got strong work from Cade Cavalli before he exited early with an injury, then stayed in it through the late innings and got a scoreless 10th from Orlando Ribalta to keep the door open.
The payoff came after two straight walks loaded the bases in the 10th, turning a tied game into a chance for Crews to become the difference. For a Nationals team still searching for signs of a real turnaround, the rookie's first major league walk-off hit did more than end a game - it offered a reminder that the organization may already have a player capable of changing the mood around it. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Bullpen Collapse Turns Late Lead Into Another Brutal Loss
A late lead vanished in brutal fashion Sunday as the Nationals watched Miami pour in six runs in the ninth and leave Washington with another deflating loss. The collapse turned what had been a manageable finish into a 6-2 Marlins win, with Dax Fulton picking up his first career victory while the Nationals were left to sort through a bullpen meltdown that made the ending feel even heavier.
The final inning also brought another worry for Miami when Xavier Edwards exited after a collision with Jorbit Vivas and was dealing with left elbow and thumb discomfort. His status adds a layer of uncertainty to a game the Nationals will want to forget, but the broader concern for Washington is more familiar - too many late innings slipping away when the margin still feels there to protect. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospects Keep Wasting The Few Bright Spots Fans Notice
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Fredericksburg offered the most fleeting glimpse of a turnaround, slicing into what had been a comfortable cushion before the comeback ran out of room in the late innings. Harrisburg, meanwhile, had its own long night on the mound as the Baysox kept finding damage, leaving the Senators with too much ground to make up even in a game that stayed close on the scoreboard. For a Nationals farm system looking for anything steady, the problem keeps being the same: the bright spots are too few, and too often they disappear before they can matter. [Read more 🡒]