The game stayed even into the fourth inning, then Washington's bats took over. A three-run fifth put the Nationals ahead for good, and Foster Griffin made it stand up with seven innings of one-run ball in a 5-2 win over the Athletics.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSH | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| OAK | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
Griffin allowed 8 hits but just 1 run over 7.0 innings, walking 1 and striking out 2 to improve to 11-2. Clayton Beeter closed it out with 1.1 innings for his 8th save. Oakland starter Jacob Lopez, by contrast, lasted only 4.1 innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits with 6 strikeouts before the bullpen took over and allowed 3 more runs.
Washington broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth when Ford doubled to left and Crews scored, putting the Nationals ahead 2-1 in what became the decisive shift of the game. They pulled away in the fifth: Abrams homered to center, a 422-foot shot that also brought home Mead for a 4-1 lead, and Crews followed with a solo homer to left to make it 5-1. Abrams finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and 2 RBI, while Crews went 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored, a homer and an RBI.
Oakland's offense stirred briefly in the third, tying the game at 1-1 on Soderstrom's RBI single that scored Williams, and again in the ninth when Wilson's single brought home McNeil to cut the deficit to 5-2. But those were the only runs the Athletics could produce against Griffin and Washington's relievers, who combined to allow just 1 run over 2.0 innings. Williams went 2-for-3 with 2 doubles, and Wilson finished 2-for-5 with an RBI, but Oakland could not string together the runs needed to close the gap.
Washington improved to 50-50, snapping in with its first win after a loss, while Oakland fell to 42-57 with its first loss following a win.