The Washington Nationals (31-29) continue their stretch of winning baseball, taking the final two against the San Diego Padres (32-26). 

The Nationals now improve to two games above .500 and hold sole possession of second place in the NL East.

In Friday's 7-5 loss, the Nationals would lose a high-scoring game despite scoring four runs in the first three innings.

Paxton Schultz would step into the opening role for the first time this season. He opened for Andrew Alvarez, who stepped into the rotational role for the first time in the Major Leagues this season.  

The Nationals had a rotational spot to fill after Jake Irvin landed on the 15-day Injury List for a right shoulder strain after a five-inning no-hit outing against the Atlanta Braves. 

Both Schultz and Alvarez would struggle to get going. Schultz allowed two hits and a walk in the first inning, which resulted in one earned run. Alvarez would only pitch three inefficient innings, where his pitch count reached 74. He allowed three earned runs, five hits and two walks in his first start of the season. 

The Nationals' batting would start strong with Curtis Mead hitting a two-run home run in the first inning. Keibert Ruiz would hit a home run in the second inning and Dylan Crews would find an RBI knock in the third inning. 

The Nationals would take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning after Jacob Young notched an RBI single.

The Nationals' bullpen would once again be unable to hold onto a lead. This time, Mitchell Parker allowed three earned runs on two home runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

On Saturday, the Nationals' offense came alive in the seventh inning for a late comeback 9-4 win. 

Foster Griffin would take the mound on Saturday’s win. This was the ninth time that the Nationals have won a game where Foster Griffin started. 

Griffin would struggle in his outing against the Padres, allowing three earned runs on three solo home runs in five innings. 

Brad Lord would take over and pitch two scoreless innings before Gus Varland and Clayton Beeter pitched the last two innings. Lord recorded his third win of the season and is yet to record a loss. 

Drew Millas would get on the board first for the Nationals, with a solo home run into the home dugout. That was Millas’ second home run of the season. He has struggled at the plate in his limited at-bats to start 2026, batting .174 with a .519 OPS.

The Nationals wouldn’t score again until a six-run seventh inning, which started with six straight batters reaching base safely. Crews would bring in a runner after being hit at the plate, Millas would bring in a runner on a fielder's choice and Luis García Jr. would knock a two-RBI single. Daylen Lile would score the last run of the inning on a fielder's choice to give the Nationals a four-run lead.

Curtis Mead would knock a two-RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning for a couple of extra insurance runs before Clayton Beeter recorded the save.

In Sunday's series finale, Zack Littell started on the mound against Padres’ Griffin Canning in Sunday’s rubber match. Canning has struggled to start 2026, entering the game with a 7.54 ERA. Littell has stacked up some impressive outings after finishing April with an 8.37 ERA. 

Littell would pitch a quality start, going six innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks. He would strike out five batters during his outing and was quite efficient, finishing with 84 pitches.

Canning came out sharp, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced. García would score the first run of the ball game with a solo home run with no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

James Wood would extend the lead to three with a two-run home run in the fifth inning, bringing home Ruiz. 

Ruiz finished 2-for-3 on Sunday, which improved his batting average to .281. 

Littell would start the seventh inning, but allowed the first three runners to reach safely. Xander Bogaerts walked on four pitches, Jackson Merrill reached on a bunt single and Ty France took his first pitch and hit a double to bring home Bogaerts. 

Orlando Ribalta would come out with runners on second and third base and no outs. After a sacrifice fly on his third pitch, he would stop the bleeding by recording two quick outs. The second out came by way of Ruiz throwing out Padres’ Sung-mun Song on a steal attempt. 

Ruiz would catch another Padres’ runner stealing in the ninth inning and finish with a career high of three caught stealing. 

Brad Lord continues to serve. Lord was the biggest name in the Nationals' bullpen going into the 2026 season, and they were going to need him to have a big year. He didn’t start too well with a disappointing April, where he pitched 16.1 innings and had a 4.41 ERA. 

But he’s played like a star throughout May. Lord pitched 15.1 innings in seven appearances, where he allowed 11 hits, three walks, two earned runs and a 1.17 ERA. He has recorded three holds and two wins and has been a leading part of better bullpen play for the Nationals in May.

Keibert Ruiz looks like an All-Star. Ruiz was coming off a concussion that sidelined him for much of 2025. While lacking power in 2025, he was a good batter. But his defense was the real issue. 

He was in the bottom fifth percentile of catchers with a -10 Fielding Run Value in 2025, according to Baseball Savant. His framing was in the bottom fourth percentile, his blocks above average were in the bottom sixth percentile and his pop time was in the bottom 10th percentile. 

Entering the 2026 season, there wasn’t too much buzz around Ruiz’s name. It looked like everybody in the Nats fanbase was ready to move on after he had a poor March and April at the plate. But that has changed through May. Ruiz finished May batting 22-for-58 from the plate with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs. His batting average has increased to .281 on the season after finishing April with a .179 average. 

What is more impressive is his defensive leap. Ruiz is now in the 84th percentile of catchers with a 3 Fielding Run Value, according to Baseball Savant. His blocks above average are now in the 83rd percentile, while his framing has increased to the 84th percentile. 

His pop time is still struggling, but he had a career high three caught stealing in Sunday’s win.

Zack Littell’s strong May. Another guy who has taken a big leap in the month of May is Littell. He suffered a disastrous April, where he allowed eight runs in each of his last three games. He finished with 22 earned runs in 23.1 innings pitched, 11 home runs and a pitching record of 0-3.

May would be a completely different story, as he finished his six appearances with eight earned runs in 30.2 innings pitched. His May ERA was only 2.35, and his pitching record was 4-0. 

He pitched a quality start in the Nationals’ Sunday rubber match win against the Padres.

Littell and Miles Mikolas’ improved play has been a huge boost in the Nationals' winning stretch. 

James Wood and CJ Abrams continue to be ridiculous. Wood and Abrams continued their dominant play in the series win against the Padres. 

Wood batted 2-for-11 with three walks and a big home run, which helped the Nationals pull out the 4-2 win on Sunday. That rounds out his excellent May, where he batted .311 with 19 walks and six home runs. CJ Abrams batted 3-for-10 with two walks and two runs against the Padres. 

Wood is currently the NL OPS leader, with CJ Abrams two spots below him. The two members of the Juan Soto trade with the Padres have led the charge for the Nationals’ recent success. 

Clayton Beeter is all the way back. Clayton Beeter missed a month of action after being placed on the Injured List with right forearm soreness. He made a couple of appearances over the last 10 days, as he’s been recovering from his injury. 

He came up big for the Nationals and recorded two saves in back-to-back wins on Saturday and Sunday. He has finished May with just two hits and two saves in 5.1 innings pitched. 

The Nationals will now look to the second series of their home stretch, against the Miami Marlins. The first pitch will be at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, June 1. 

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