The Nationals use a 5-run fifth to win their third straight game

On Monday evening at Nationals Park, the in-game decisions made, or not made, by the opposing skippers provided insight into the delicate balance between what a manager’s scouting report says and what a manager’s heart tells him.

In the end, as is often the case, some decisions panned out. Others backfired. The result was a 7-3 Nationals victory that extended their winning streak to three games and pushed them three games above .500 for the first time since 2019 when they won the World Series. And it took contributions from every player.

“I’ve been in this organization for years now, so to be where we’re at right now, it feels really good,” first baseman Luis García Jr. said through interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “We all work together. It’s a very united group.”

The two teams’ starting lineups provided insight into how teams stack their lineups based on the handedness of the starting pitcher. The Nationals’ order featured four left-handed hitters and two switch-hitters against Royals righty Mitch Spence. The Royals countered with six righties and a switch-hitter against Nationals lefty Andrew Alvarez.

Yet even those platoons can’t account for specific game situations, like in the third inning when right-hander hitter Curtis Mead stepped up to the plate with two runners in scoring position and two outs.

Mead hit a single that bounced off the tip of Royals second baseman Nick Loftin’s glove and into center field to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

During the team’s first series of the season, the Nationals acquired Mead from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for catching prospect Boston Smith.

Mead, a former Top 100 prospect with the Rays, had familiarity with Blake Butera and bench coach Michael Johns. He was expected to primarily play against left-handed pitchers. Butera said Mead asked him early this season what he needed to do to play against righties.

“Hit lefties really well,” Butera told him. “He took that challenge and he ran with it and he did a really good job, and that’s why he’s in there today.”

Over time, he’s earned Butera’s confidence because of his success against southpaws and his ability to improve defensively. He played in 10 games in April, 17 in May and now has played in 10 of the team’s 13 games in June. Those opportunities have come at third base since Brady House was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, instead of Butera starting lefties Jorbit Vivas or Jose Tena.

The increase in playing time is an example of Butera trusting his feel versus numbers, though those are steadily improving. Mead hasn’t necessarily hit the cover off the baseball against righties, batting just .227, but has walked enough and hit for enough power to have a .348 on-base percentage and an .812 on-base-plus-slugging percentage entering Monday’s contest. Six of his 10 homers have come against righties.

In the fifth, Butera was faced with another decision: keep in Alvarez with a one-run lead or bring in Brad Lord with the Royals set to face Alvarez for a third time. Alvarez had only thrown 58 pitches, including 23 in the inning prior. Yet Lord presented a favorable matchup so Butera went with the righty.

“At the end of the day, I’m fully on board with what the team wants and what the teams needs from me,” Alvarez said. “If that’s what it calls for, I trust in their decisions.”

The decision-making process was sound. Yet the decision didn’t pan out. Lord walked Bobby Witt Jr. on four pitches before allowing a double to Jac Caglianone. Then, Maikel Garcia hit a two-run double and the Royals led 3-2.

Butera’s thought process was, in a one-run game, they liked Lord in a high-leverage situation with a righty-heavy lineup. If the Royals countered with lefties, they’d turn to a lefty out of the bullpen later in the outing.

He added that consistency with his decision-making process will help players get into a rhythm because they’ll get accustomed to knowing when they’ll be used.

“Our job is to put our players in a position to have success, and I think if our process is to do that as many times as we possibly can, we like the chances of our results being really good more often than not,” he said. “There are a lot of times where the process is good and the results aren’t, and I really have trouble sleeping at night. But I think the end of the day, like, you really have to remind yourself that sticking to the process and what we believe in is most important.”

In the bottom of the frame, Royals manager Matt Quatraro was faced with a dilemma of his own. The first two Nationals reached base against Spence, so Quatraro had options: leave in Spence or turn to his bullpen. He had righty Mason Black warming. He also could’ve used lefty Matt Strahm with lefties James Wood and Luis García Jr. set to hit.

Instead, he stuck with Spence. That decision backfired, too. Spence walked Wood, then allowed a two-run single to García that put the Nationals back in front. Then, Black entered.

Three batters later, Wood and García still stood on first and second when Black threw a slider to Dylan Crews that caught too much of the plate. Crews hit a frozen rope down the left-field line that snuck just inside the foul pole.

He celebrated as he rounded first base as his three-run homer capped off a five-run outburst that proved to be the difference in Monday’s contest.

“It was just a big moment,” Crews said. “Just being able to kind of capitalize on a big moment like that is special.”