CLEVELAND — Pitching coach Simon Mathews made his light jog out of the dugout for a mound visit with starter Cade Cavalli in the fifth inning.

Cavalli had just walked rookie Travis Bazzana and All-Star slugger José Ramírez was at the plate with the bases loaded with one out and the Nationals leading by four runs. After missing with a changeup near the top of the zone, Cavalli worked down and threw a curveball low.

Ramírez chased and lofted the ball to left field but didn’t hit it hard enough to leave the park, instead settling for a sacrifice fly that chipped into the Nationals’ lead.

With runners on first and second and two outs, Cavalli fell behind in the count against Chase DeLauter 3-1. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Cavalli threw a changeup middle-middle that DeLauter hit sharply to Jacob Young to end the inning.

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While the offense has been powering the team for the majority of the season, the pitching staff has started to keep its end of the bargain over the past week, including Tuesday’s 6-3 win over the Guardians for their fourth consecutive series win.

Entering Tuesday, the Nationals’ pitching staff had posted a 2.51 ERA over the last seven days.

In Cincinnati, Foster Griffin felt that the team was close to stringing together more complete performances. The offense was pouring in runs and the pitching staff was doing enough to get by. After allowing 26 runs over the first three games of the Mets series, the unit has stabilized, allowing 12 runs over the past six.

The pitching staff’s standout play allowed the Nationals to win two of three games against the Braves. The starters that are in the rotation have posted a 1.00 ERA over its last six games — the list includes Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas, who had openers pitch before them but operated in a bulk role.

If the pitching staff can continue complementing the offense, the Nationals could stay above .500. That improvement starts with the starting rotation, which received another strong performance from Cavalli. Over six innings he allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. Cavalli posted a 2.20 ERA in May after Tuesday’s start.

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The offense put up four runs in the second inning. Keibert Ruiz hit a two-run RBI single to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead, and James Wood then blasted a two-run homer. The Nationals tacked on two runs in the ninth inning on Andrés Chaparro’s two-out, two-run single — he was thrown out at second base.

With a powerful fastball and developing breaking and off-speed pitches, Cavalli is developing into a reliable, top-of-the rotation arm.

For Cavalli, landing his breaking balls is paramount for his success. When he’s landing those in the zone for strikes, it allows his fastball to be more effective because teams have to be ready for it.

Left-hander Mitchell Parker entered in the seventh and continued to stymie the Guardians, throwing three innings and allowing two runs on three hits with five strikeouts.

As the Nationals finish out a string of 16 consecutive games, they have managed to conserve their bullpen. They have only needed two pitchers each of the past two days and should have plenty of fresh arms for the series finale Wednesday before an off day Thursday.