Three bunts and four runs in the ninth inning lifted the Washington Nationals over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night
The Washington Nationals were able to end its two game slide with a win on Friday night, taking down the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3, in game one of the three game series. Yet it was how they did it that may have been most impressive.
The difference? A four run ninth inning, all sparked by CJ Abrams getting on base after being hit by a pitch. Yet then came the small ball style that fans have come to expect from first year manager Blake Butera after Joey Wiemer, a former Brewer, laid down the first bunt of the inning to get Abrams to second.
After a single from Luis García Jr. got the game-winning run across the plate, Jorbit Vivas laid down the second bunt to keep the bases loaded while getting Wiemer over the plate. The next at bat? Drew Millas completed the trifecta, getting Nasim Nuñez to become the Nationals sixth run while reaching first, leading to boos pouring in at American Family Field.
"Nobody bunts more than us. They did a great job of exploiting us," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said postgame.
Yet it marked an encouraging performance after entering the night without a bunt hit and one sac fly to start the 2026 season.
"It's something we worked a lot on in spring training, going into the season. It's been a big focus of ours to do the small things very well. And we talked about going into this series specifically, knowing the type of team Milwaukee has, knowing that they're going to be coming at us all day long. We're going to have to go right back at them," Butera said postgame.
Butera also pointed to the "practice and repetition" as the reason for Friday's success, but it also came on the shoulders of another strong showing from the stars.
Quieting all concerns about an early season slump, James Wood stayed hot after notching four hits across his five at bats, while CJ Abrams added a pair of hits in three at bats. Both also added an RBI in the win, yet the pitching staff also picked up the slack after allowing just two hits across the final four innings to set the stage for the late inning comeback.
The Nationals, standing at 5-8, will look to string together success when they take the field for game two on Saturday with first pitch set for 7:10 PM.