The game turned in the seventh inning. Washington and Kansas City had traded runs through six, tied at three, when Curtis Mead sent a 424-foot shot to center field that brought Nasim Nunez and Andres Chaparro home with him. That three-run blast put the Nationals ahead 6-3 and proved to be more than enough.
Foster Griffin set the tone for Washington, working 6.0 innings and allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 6 on 100 pitches. The right-hander, now 7-2 with a 3.32 ERA, did not factor in the decision but kept Kansas City's offense in check long enough for the offense to build a lead. Nasim Nunez was a catalyst throughout, scoring 3 times in 2-for-2 plate appearances with 2 walks. James Wood drove in 2 runs, including a fifth-inning single to center that scored Nunez.
Washington opened the scoring in the third. Nunez tripled to right and scored on the play, then Wood's sacrifice fly to center brought Nunez home for a 2-0 lead. Kansas City answered in the fifth when Bobby Witt singled to right, scoring Tyler Tolbert to make it 2-1, but Nunez scored again in the home half on Wood's single to restore the two-run margin. The Royals pulled even in the seventh on Isaac Collins's single to left, which scored Lane Thomas and Witt to tie it at three. Washington responded immediately — Mead's homer ended the inning with a 6-3 advantage.
Michael Wacha started for Kansas City and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits over 6.0 innings, striking out 3. Daniel Lynch entered in relief and was charged with the loss, his first of the season, after allowing 3 runs in 1.0 inning. Thomas hit a solo home run to left in the ninth — 407 feet — to make it 6-4, but Gus Varland closed it out for his sixth save of the season. Paxton Schultz earned his first win of the year, working a scoreless seventh inning.
Washington improved to 37-35 with the victory, their second straight win. Mead now has 11 home runs and 34 RBI on the season. Witt went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Kansas City, which fell to 29-43. Michael Wacha is 12 strikeouts away from 1,500 for his career.