Luis García Jr.’s 2-homer game powers Nationals past Orioles, 6-4

Luis García Jr. cracked a smile postgame when asked to describe his confidence level.

“I can’t describe it right now,” García said through an interpreter after Sunday’s 6-4 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. “Everybody sees that my confidence is just at another level, and I think that’s something every batter wants to have.”

It’s fair that García can’t describe the incandescent streak he’s been on over the past month. He continued that impressive stretch Sunday, going 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two homers, his third multihomer game of the season.

It was only fitting that García brought the good vibes after a trying week for the Nationals that saw them endure their first four-game losing streak since early April. García, the cheerful first baseman with strong bat-to-ball skills and surprising pop, was the driving force for the Nationals this weekend ahead of a series against Boston. He powered them on a quiet offensive day from stars James Wood and CJ Abrams, who combined to go 1-for-7.

As Wood and Abrams experienced dry spells, the depth of the lineup gave the team a much-needed lift. Just a little over halfway done with the regular season, García has 15 homers, three off his career high.

“Super impressive,” starter Zack Littell said of Garcia’s performance. “It gets hidden a little bit behind CJ and James, and that also makes him that much more dangerous [because] guys probably don’t put as much stock into facing him as they should.”

García became the first National since 2024 to hit five homers in a six-game span. His ability to turn his impressive bat-to-ball skills into power has transformed him into a valuable offensive contributor.

He’s been one of the best hitters in baseball in June. Among qualified batters, García is fifth in wRC+, behind All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong, two-time reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone and Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler. After his two-homer performance, he became the first National with double-digit homers in a month since Kyle Schwarber’s team-record 16 in June 2021.

“He’s been unreal,” manager Blake Butera said.

García’s chase percentage was down in June to 39.3% before Sunday’s game. He’s squaring up pitches at a high rate and doing damage when he makes contact.

He said his improved plate discipline is partly due to a competition he has with catcher Keibert Ruiz. The two want to see who can draw more walks. The competition began in a hitters meeting around three weeks ago when the coaches were showing the players who had the fewest walks and most contact.

“[Garcia’s] one of the longer-standing members of this of this team, and when he’s playing well like this, and he’s able to be a voice, especially with what we’ve gone through these last couple of weeks, [it] gives us a sense of calmness and confidence,” Butera said. “It goes a long way.”

Aside from left-hander Mitchell Parker’s two-run homer allowed in the seventh, the bullpen was nails. Left-hander PJ Poulin threw two scoreless innings to seal the win. After suffering a four-game losing streak that was more heartwrenching because of the late-game collapses, the team needed a series win.

“These guys have been through a lot already in just half a season,” Butera said. “To see the way they bounce back every single time, not getting caught up in the record and not riding the highs too much, and not riding the lows too much, this team exemplifies that extremely well. They just seem to be the same group every single day, no matter how well or how poorly they were playing.”

Littell, who entered with a National League-high 21 homers allowed, conceded his 22nd immediately. After Adley Rutschman singled in his first at-bat back from the seven-day concussion injured list, Pete Alonso crushed his 19th homer of the year to put the Orioles ahead 2-0 in the first inning.

But, for as poorly as Littell has pitched against other teams, Baltimore has managed little against him in two appearances. Littell holds a 5.79 ERA against other teams. Against the Orioles, he has a 1.80 ERA, with two earned runs allowed in 10 innings.

In five innings Sunday, he gave up three hits and held the Orioles scoreless after Alonso’s blast.

“We just didn’t get any hits,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s nothing to solve. He does a good job of throwing strikes. His split is an equalizer, and he does a great job with his cutter to keep guys honest. I thought we had good at-bats, some good swings. We just couldn’t get anything going.”

The Nationals, meanwhile, took advantage of right-hander Kyle Bradish’s uncharacteristic wildness and another defensive miscue from a team that has made a lot of them. Bradish issued a pair of two-out walks in the third inning, and he reached a 1-2 count against García. But García worked the count full, then he split the left-center gap with a two-run double.

The next play, Bradish appeared to force an inning-ending grounder. Rather than tagging García as he ran to third, Coby Mayo threw across the diamond to Samuel Basallo at first. Mayo bounced the throw and Basallo couldn’t pick it, which brought home a third run.

With two outs, Albernaz said, the correct play is to throw across the diamond rather than getting into a potential rundown with a runner.

A leadoff walk by Bradish in the fifth spelled the end of his contest. Albernaz lifted him after he recorded 12 outs — breaking a streak in which Bradish had pitched into or completed the eighth in consecutive starts. And, with right-hander Tyler Wells on the mound, García homered.

Bradish finished with three earned runs against him to go with five walks and just one hit.

“Early on in the year, obviously, I was walking a lot of guys and thought we got away from it, was feeling good,” Bradish said. “Those last two starts have been really good. It’s just one of those days. Baseball’s humbling. Have two really dominant outings and then have one like this, where [you] go out there to get the team a win, win a series, and just let it down.”

While the Orioles’ defense cost a run, Colton Cowser in center field saved two. Shortly after Wells allowed the two-run shot to García in the fifth, Cowser robbed Lile of another two-run homer, leaping at the wall. And later Cowser threw out Ruiz as the catcher tried for a double.

When asked if robbing a homer is the best feeling in baseball, Cowser laughed that hitting a walk-off is pretty good too. Among an outfield that hasn’t performed well in the field, Cowser has been the brightest spot.

“It’s something that I’ve really worked on,” Cowser said. “You can contribute out there, even if you’re not contributing at the plate. And so it’s something I take a lot of pride in.”

Cowser also began a comeback attempt with a two-out single against Parker in the seventh. That led to Jackson Holliday’s two-run shot, his first homer against a southpaw this season.

But there would be no ninth-inning comeback Sunday. Poulin forced a game-ending double play to secure a series win for Washington.

This article has been updated.