Four home runs in the first three innings told the story. Kansas City built a commanding lead before Washington could find its footing, and the Nationals never recovered, falling 6-2 at Nationals Park before 17,643 fans.
Carter Jensen led the way, going 4-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, adding a walk for good measure. He was one of four Royals to go deep. John Rave homered to center in the second, Lane Thomas followed with a 411-foot shot to center in the third, and Michael Massey capped the early barrage with a 430-foot blast to center in the same inning. By the end of the third, Kansas City led 4-0 and the outcome was rarely in doubt.
Jensen started it all in the first, sending one 366 feet to right to put KC on top. The Royals added two more in the sixth — Rave scored on a sacrifice bunt by Isaac Collins, then Bobby Witt singled to center to bring home Collins and push the lead to 6-0. Washington answered with two runs of its own in the sixth: C. J. Abrams doubled to center to score Curtis Mead, and Dylan Crews singled to right to bring home Abrams — but the deficit was far too large.
Luinder Avila earned the win, working 5.2 innings and allowing 1 run on 3 hits, with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk on 91 pitches. He moves to 2-3 on the season with a 5.50 ERA. Zack Littell absorbed the loss for Washington, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits over 5.0 innings, falling to 6-6 with a 5.45 ERA.
Kansas City dropped to 29-45 with the win, extending its losing streak to two games — wait, the victory snapped a two-game skid for the Royals. Washington, despite the loss, holds a 39-35 record and sits third in its division, having won four straight entering this contest.