The Nationals didn’t just beat the A’s last night. They flattened them.
Washington piled up 23 runs in Sacramento, a total that is tied for the second most in franchise history, and once the game reached the Athletics bullpen, the whole thing turned into a runaway. In a season already filled with big offensive nights, this one stood above the rest. After the Yankees series left the lineup frustrated, especially with runners on base, the Nats came out looking like a group that had been waiting all week to unload.
It didn’t start as a fireworks show. A’s starter Gage Jump came out firing, retiring the first seven batters he faced and striking out five of them.
He lived in the upper 90s and even hit 100 MPH once. But even then, Washington was making him work, and that mattered.
The breakthrough came in the third inning, when Curtis Mead and Andres Chaparro delivered two-out RBI hits to get the scoring going. Mead and Chaparro both finished with four hits, and every hitter in the lineup picked up at least one knock. Nobody was left out of the feast.
Chaparro was the headliner. He turned in one of the best games in Nationals history, finishing with four hits, a walk, eight RBIs and two home runs.
His first homer was the one that really jumped off the page: a 467-foot shot, the fourth longest Nationals home run of the Statcast era, and one that looked even longer in real time. Before the game, Chaparro was sitting on a .586 OPS and drawing criticism for taking at-bats away from Luis Garcia.
He left with a .776 OPS after one night that completely changed the conversation. He had been unlucky before this, and the 27-year-old finally got the kind of night that can reset a season.
Harry Ford also made his presence felt in a big way. It was just the start of his MLB season, but with Drew Millas injured, Ford got his chance and made a strong first impression.
The beginning was rough - he struck out and then blew a challenge - but he settled in quickly. His second at-bat showed exactly why he’s been such a productive minor league hitter for so long: he worked a walk by laying off several close pitches, then advanced to second on a wild pitch that didn’t get far from Shea Langeliers, helping Washington manufacture a run.
Ford’s biggest moment came the next inning, when the 23-year-old launched his first career big league homer to left center. For a former first-round pick with more than 500 minor league games behind him, it was a meaningful swing.
He hasn’t shown the same power this year that he had in previous seasons, but that has started to change over the last few weeks as his nagging shoulder injury has improved. What stood out most was the quality of his at-bats.
The power and contact may not be fully there yet, but his elite plate discipline gives him a real edge.
Cade Cavalli deserved his share of the spotlight too. In a ballpark that can tilt heavily toward hitters, he worked six innings, allowed two runs, struck out nine and didn’t walk anyone.
He didn’t use his curveball as often as usual, but when he did, it was a weapon. He leaned on it as a put-away pitch and used it to rack up strikeouts.
It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this is Cavalli’s first full big league season. Even so, what he’s done has been impressive: a 3.78 ERA, a 3.20 FIP and 119 strikeouts in 104.2 innings.
For a pitcher who has taken a long and winding path to this point, that’s strong production. He looks like someone who should be in the Nationals rotation for a long time.
The offense was the story, and it has been the story all season. Washington finished the first half tied for the league lead in runs scored, and now it has moved well ahead of the pack again. With Sacramento and Coors Field coming up next week, that lead could grow even more.
And for a team that keeps making the deadline picture harder to sort out, nights like this only complicate things further. Every time the idea of selling starts to settle in, the Nationals go out and do something like this.
The road trip should tell a lot about where they stand. If they can go 4-2 or better, it could put Paul Toboni in a real bind.
The offense is that special, and the thought of it paired with a better pitching staff down the road is exactly why this whole thing feels so intriguing.
In Other News...
Nationals Just Moved On From Another Bullpen Problem
The Nationals bullpen shuffle continued before the All-Star break, with the club designating a left-handed reliever for assignment to clear space for first base prospect Abimelec Ortiz. It was the latest sign that Washington is still trying to sort out a relief corps that has been under pressure during recent games, and the move fit the pattern of a team looking inward for answers while it waits for the bigger roster decisions ahead.
After clearing waivers, the reliever elected free agency, leaving Washington with one less left-handed option in a bullpen that has already been a problem area. The Nationals are still evaluating internal ways to steady the relief mix, and with the trade deadline approaching, the next move could say plenty about how aggressively they plan to address the issue. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Suddenly Face A Luis Garca Jr. Decision They Can't Ignore
Luis Garca Jr. has turned a strong season into one of the more interesting decisions on the Nationals summer board. By the All-Star break, he had already reached a career-best 20 home runs and carried an .871 OPS, production that has made him one of the most valuable pieces on a roster still trying to sort out its long-term direction. He is also the longest-tenured National, which gives his rise a little extra weight inside the clubhouse as Washington weighs what kind of team it wants to be beyond this season.
The challenge now is figuring out how to balance that value against the realities of the market and the calendar. Garca remains under team control through 2027, so the Nationals do not have to rush into anything, and the front office still has time to sort through whether keeping him in place matters more than any return that might come before the Aug. 3 deadline. For a club trying to build something sturdier, moving a player like this would carry consequences well beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Farm System Delivers One High, One Low, One Wild Finish
The Nationals affiliates spent the night moving in different directions, with Rochester putting together the cleanest performance of the bunch in a 7-2 win over Jacksonville. Jackson Kent handled the heavy lifting on the mound, while Abimelec Ortiz and Christian Franklin kept the lineup moving with a steady stream of traffic, a good sign for a system that has been looking for more consistent production at the upper levels.
Elsewhere, Wilmington found a way to finish, Harrisburg had another frustrating result, and the DSL club nearly stole a comeback before running out of runway. The Blue Rocks late surge stood out most, but the bigger organizational note may have been the roster shuffle involving Blake Brown, a reminder that the Nationals are still sorting through pieces across the farm as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]