The Nationals came into Baltimore needing a bounce-back series. They entered the series on a three-game losing streak, and with back-to-back series losses against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. The good news? It ended on the note it needed to as Washington enters the week still above .500.

On Friday, the Nationals extended their loss streak to four games and dropped below .500 for the first time since June 3. 

Andrew Alvarez was on the mound to record his first loss of the season. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings pitched. Alvarez has yet to pitch five innings in 2026, even after filling in Jake Irvin’s starting spot. The batting went flat as Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers allowed only one run and five hits in 6.1 innings. The Nationals would fail to get a single hit in the 2.2 innings of relief.

Yet Washington would answer back after the tenth inning win on Saturday night ended their second-largest losing streak of the 2026 season and put them back at an even .500. 

Foster Griffin continued his incredible June with a zero earned run, seven-inning outing. He has now allowed four earned runs in 31.1 innings pitched during five outings in June. He had triple-digit pitches in four of his five outings and finished with 33 strikeouts. 

Griffin’s final stat line for Saturday was three hits, one unearned run, two walks and nine strikeouts in seven innings. 

The Nationals' batting found more success but failed to convert good runners on base into runs. They were just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners left on base. The Nationals had 11 hits and just three runs in the first nine innings. 

Jorbit Vivas and Luis García Jr. were two standout players for the Nationals. Vivas brought home Daylen Lile to put the Nationals on the board in the second inning. He would cross home for the Nationals' third run at the top of the sixth inning. 

García would hammer a 418-foot home run to lead off the top of the fifth inning and put the Nationals on top 2-1. García finished 4-for-5 from the plate.

Relievers PJ Poulin and Orlando Ribalta would pitch the bottom of the eighth inning, where they allowed three hits and the tying two earned runs. Daylen Lile would lead off the extra innings with an RBI single that brought home Dylan Crews, who was acting as the designated runner. 

Justin Lawrence would pitch the first time with the Nationals in the 10th inning, where he would load the bases before finishing the inning scoreless. The 31-year-old relief pitcher was picked up off waivers on June 24 after being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Minnesota Twins on June 1.

Sunday, however, gave the Nationals a chance at securing momentum - and they never looked back as García stayed red hot for the second straight day, blasting two home runs and five RBIs in Sunday’s win. 

Zack Littell struggled in his last three starts heading into his start on Sunday. He allowed 11 earned runs in 10.2 innings against the Phillies, Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners. 

He would start slow, allowing a two-run first inning to a two-run 437-foot Pete Alonso deep-center home run.

The Nationals would take the lead back in the third inning after a two-out rally that started with Ruiz and Wood drawing back-to-back walks. García brought them home with a double and would score after an error by Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo on the next pitch. 

They would extend the lead in the fifth inning after Wood walked for the second time of the game and García hit a two-run home run. 

Littell would bounce back from the slow start to pitch four scoreless innings and receive the win. He finished allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks in five innings. 

García would add another run in the seventh inning with a solo shot. He had all five of the Nationals RBIs and was 3-for-5 from the plate in the Nationals win. He has six home runs in his last six games and now has 11 home runs in June. 

Luis García Jr. has gone nuclear. Luis García Jr. did everything he could to push the Nationals past the finish line in Saturday and Sunday’s wins. After seeing just one at bat in Friday’s loss, he finished the series 7-for-11 from the plate with three home runs and six RBIs. 

He has 10 hits, nine RBIs and six home runs in his last six games. He is the first National since 2024 to hit at least five home runs in a six-game stretch. 

García has put together an outstanding June, batting .304/.345/.797 splits, 11 home runs and 25 RBIs through 79 at-bats. This is coming after a good May, where he averaged .288 with an OPS over .800. 

García is now at a .279 batting average after entering Saturday’s win with a .262 average. The 26-year-old was the only National to record an RBI in their 6-4 win on Sunday.

Foster Griffin is an NL Pitcher of the Month Candidate. Another player who is scorching hot is Foster Griffin. The offseason signing from the NPB has continued to impress in his first tenure as a starter in the MLB.

His ERA has dropped to 2.93 after a seven-inning outing where he had no earned runs. He has now had four quality starts in a row.

He has pitched 31.1 innings and allowed just four earned runs in June. He hasn’t allowed more than one run in any of his five outings. He has only allowed four walks in the 120 batters faced in June. 

Griffin has notched his name among the top pitchers of the first half of the 2026 season. He has just two losses recorded, and only three outings where he has allowed over four earned runs.

He is 14th in ERA, 12th in WHIP and 20th in strikeouts out of all qualified MLB pitchers. The 30-year-old pitcher has become a big asset for the Nationals. 

Nationals continue their road dominance.  After another disappointing home stretch, the Nationals stabilized in their first road series. The Nationals are now 26-17 on the road and just 17-25 when at home. 

The Nationals' pitching on the road has been considerably better throughout the first half of the season. On the road, Nationals pitchers have a 4.09 ERA compared to a home ERA of 5.28.

The Nationals will have another favorable road series against the Boston Red Sox to finish off their road stretch. 

CJ Abrams couldn’t find anything at the plate. CJ Abrams had his worst series of the year, finishing 0-for-12 with one walk and seven strikeouts. 

Abrams has been prone to playing weaker in the back halves of seasons throughout his career. He has been playing some of his best baseball throughout the 2026 MLB season and leads NL shortstops in All-Star voting. 

Washington will be hoping for their star shortstop to have a big bounce-back series against the Red Sox in Boston. 

The bullpen still lacks any convincing play as of late. The Nationals' bullpen has been the thorn in their side all season. They lead the MLB with 51 save opportunities, but have recorded just 26 saves throughout 2026.

While the Nationals won two of three against the Orioles, the bullpen did not make it easy. Griffin left his seven-inning outing on Saturday with a 3-1 lead, but the Nationals would have to take the game to extra innings after Poulin and Ribalta both gave up an earned run in the eighth inning. 

When Littell left the mound after five innings in Sunday’s win, the Nationals led 5-2. Parker allowed a two-run home run in the seventh inning to cut the lead.

The Nationals' best bullpen arm, Brad Lord, pitched in Friday’s loss and allowed an earned run for the third time in his last four outings. 

The bullpen continues to give National fans doubts and will continue to hurt the Nationals' chances of an NL Wildcard bid at this rate. 

Offense is lacking in RISP at bats. The Nationals have been the best offense in baseball throughout the 2026 season, still leading the MLB with 449 runs. Part of that has been the success with runners in scoring positions. 

They are tied for third in the league with 28 home runs and have driven in the second-most runs with runners in scoring position. 

But against the Orioles, it was a completely different story. The Nationals were just 6-for-31 with runners in scoring position against the Orioles. They were just 2-for-9 in Friday’s loss and 3-for-15 in Saturday’s win, where they finished their one-run win with 6 more hits than the Orioles. 

Nasim Nuñez and Crews both finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position throughout the series. The Nationals finished the series with 22 runners left on base.  

The Nationals now look to change their sights to Boston, for the second series of the road stretch against the 36-46 Red Sox. The series begins Monday, June 29, at 7:10 p.m. EST.

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