The Washington Nationals will now look to get back over .500 in the series finale on Thursday afternoon
For the second time within a one week span, the Washington Nationals are back at .500 during the 2026 regular season.
The Nationals scored four runs through the first two innings then adding two in both the sixth then eighth inning, cementing an 8-4 win at Nationals Park.
Washington holds a 19-8 record this season when scoring first, which is exactly what happened on Wednesday night after Curtis Mead notched the game's first hit with a single to right before Andres Chaparro drew a walk one day after being called up. That set up CJ Abrams to blast his tenth home run of the year after taking an 85 mph cutter 389 feet over the right field wall for an early 3-0 lead.
The Mets answered with an RBI single in the top of the second, but Washington got it back in the bottom of the inning after an RBI single from Keibert Ruiz drove in Nasim Nunez to maintain the three-run deficit.
The first of two Juan Soto home runs materialized in the third inning after a solo shot cut it to 4-2, but it marked the final run given up in what proved to be a strong outing for Zack Littell.
Littell allowed five hits and two earned runs in five innings, his second consecutive appearance lasting that span.
The Nationals would add two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth after CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews notched consecutive singles to put runners on the corners with no outs, setting up Daylen Lile with the sac fly. The next at bat after a pitching change, Nasim Nunez's sacrifice bunt drew Dylan Crews home to make it 6-2.
The second Juan Soto home run materialized in the eight inning after taking a slider 408 feet into right field for a two-run shot, cutting it to 6-4, but Washington would pad its lead back after Jacob Young belted a 393 foot home run into left field in the bottom of the inning, once again keeping the four-run advantage.
The Nationals will go for the series win in the finale tomorrow with the two teams set for a 4:05 PM first pitch on Thursday.
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