Washington trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the fifth. Twelve pitches later, the game was settled. The Nationals scored five times in the inning to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 7-3 lead they never surrendered, handing Kansas City a 7-3 defeat at Nationals Park.
Dylan Crews provided the blow that ended the suspense. With two runners on, he homered to left — 366 feet — to bring home James Wood and Luis Garcia Jr. and push the Washington lead to four. Crews finished 1-for-4 with 3 RBI, his season totals now at 4 home runs and 13 RBI. The fifth inning had already turned before Crews connected: Luis Garcia Jr. singled to left to score Nasim Nunez and Keibert Ruiz, giving Washington its first lead of the game at 4-3.
The Nationals had opened the scoring in the third, when Curtis Mead singled to center to bring home Nunez and Wood, staking Washington to a 2-0 lead. Kansas City answered in the fourth — Carter Jensen reached on an infield single to score Starling Marte — and then took the lead in the fifth when Maikel Garcia singled to right, scoring Bobby Witt and Jac Caglianone to make it 3-2. That lead lasted less than half an inning.
Mitch Spence absorbed the damage for Kansas City. He lasted just 4.0 innings, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits with 1 walk and 1 strikeout on 63 pitches. It was his first loss of the season, leaving him 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. Brad Lord earned the win for Washington, working 3.0 innings and allowing 2 runs on 2 hits with 2 strikeouts. He moves to 5-0 with a 2.44 ERA.
Washington has won two straight and sits at 37-35, third in its division. Kansas City, despite winning its previous game, falls to 29-43.