Nationals explode for 6 home runs in rout over Guardians

CLEVELAND — The Nationals apparently couldn’t wait to escape Atlanta’s run-suppressing weather conditions.

The Nationals hit six home runs — tied for their season high — and led wire-to-wire in a 10-2 win over the Guardians to go above .500.

The Nationals (28-27) scored more runs in Monday’s win than they did over the three-game stretch in Atlanta. After winning that series with their smart situational hitting, stout defense and pitching, the Nationals’ offense returned to its volcanic ways.

“This is just a flash of what this team can do,” said Zack Littell, who threw seven innings, allowing two runs with seven strikeouts. “I think there’s still more in the tank. The offensive side, we’ve been really good all year.

“[On] the pitching side, I would say [we] started out slow. We still have these games where we get a little sluggish, but I think there’s more in there, and I think we’re just going to continue to get better.”

That the hitters thrived against a Guardians pitching staff with Major League Baseball’s sixth-lowest staff ERA is extra impressive. Guardians starter Tanner Bibee entered with a 3.75 ERA over 11 starts; his ERA jumped to 4.57 after the Nationals jumped on him.

In the first inning, James Wood’s homer set the tone. He hammered his fourth leadoff homer this season, the most in the majors. Luis García Jr. got into scoring position on a first-pitch double, and Curtis Mead hit a two-run homer to clear the bases and give the Nationals a 3-0 lead.

The offense stayed on the attack all night against the Guardians. In the second inning, center fielder Jacob Young hit a leadoff homer for his seventh of the season after jumping on a 2-2 cutter. Drew Millas popped out, and Nasim Nuñez struck out swinging for two outs. Wood’s two-out single kept the inning alive, and García cleared the bases on a two-run homer to extend the lead to 6-0.

“Coming out of the gates hot like that against an arm like Bibee is not easy,” manager Blake Butera said. “The way we set the tone early on gave our pitching some room to breathe a little bit there.”

After a weekend that saw the Nationals place starter Jake Irvin on the 15-day IL with right shoulder tightness and multiple bullpen arms used on Friday and Sunday, the pitching staff needed a stress-free game. A day where the offense picked them up and carried the load.

The Nationals, after two rain delays on Sunday, didn’t arrive in Cleveland until 1:00 a.m. last night. They could have easily turned in a lackluster performance after arriving in Cleveland late last night in the midst of 16 consecutive games.

But the team’s resiliency and fight continue to show. Those are traits not only of a team developing an identity, but a team that’s learning how to win.

At every instance, the Nationals quelled any notion of a Guardians comeback. In the fourth inning, Manzardo drew a two-out walk and scored on Angel Martinez’s two-out RBI double. Steven Kwan drew a walk but Littell induced a Patrick Bailey pop out to end the inning. In the fifth inning, Mead added a solo homer, and in the sixth, Daylen Lile drew a walk and Young singled to right field. Millas reached on a fielder’s choice after an error by José Ramirez to load the bases.

Washington nearly squandered the opportunity after back-to-back strikeouts by Nuñez and Wood, but García found the open hole on a two-out, two-run single that extended the lead to 10-2. He was a triple short of the cycle.

“It’s great,” García said of being above .500 in May. “It definitely feels good to see the results.”

When the Nationals’ offense is not only succeeding with runners in scoring position but hitting for power, it is potent and tough to pitch against. Against a team that has dreams of playing deep into October, the Nationals continued to show that they can compete at a level few expected them to reach this year.

“The group really feels like on any given night we can beat anybody, and it’s just fun to be part of that,” Littell said.