Freaking down the Washington Nationals‘ series win against the Minnesota Twins
It's finally happened: the 2026 Nationals have won a series at home.
After a close 7-5 victory Thursday, Washington took the series over the Minnesota Twins 2-1, staying two games under .500 in the process. With the three games wrapped up, let's take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the series.
1) Wood lifts himself from mini-slump
Coming into the series against the Twins, Wood was mired in a bit of a down stretch. In his previous seven games, he had managed just five hits and three runs batted in. In the three games against Minnesota, Wood nearly doubled those stats, picking up four knocks and three runs batted in.
It wasn't just singles, either -- Wood picked up two doubles, though he is still in a lengthy home run drought. The young slugger also got on base frequently, walking three times in the series.
2) An offensive explosion in a game two rebound
Washington got off to a rough start in the series, dropping game one 11-3 after rough outings from Ace Cade Cavalli and the bullpen.
Then game two happened.
In the second game of the series, the Nationals offense, which has been productive all season, scorched Minnesota for 15 runs. Four different players hit home runs in the outburst, with CJ Abrams, Brady House, Jose Tena and Drew Millas all leaving the yard.
It was a particularly excellent night for Abrams. The young shortstop, who is putting together a possible MVP case early in the season, ended the night 3-5 with five runs batted in, a performance highlighted by a grand slam in the eighth inning.
Abrams currently has a .933 OPS and has been a significant driver of Washington's offensive success.
It was a bug win to keep Washington in the series, and it was even more impressive coming off of the prior day's deflating loss.
3) Cavalli working through early wrinkles
Coming into the season, Cade Cavalli was seen as a potential ace for Washington. He has, in some respects, delivered on that optimism -- you only need to look at his back-to-back 10 strikeout performances to see that vision.
But the National's top starter has also experienced ups and downs in the young season, and game one of the series against the Twins was one of those down moments.
In four innings of work, Cavalli gave up three runs and allowed eight baserunners via five hits and three walks. He never got fully settled, and Washington had to dip into their bullpen early. The outing brought his season ERA to 4.15 -- not a bad number, but not ace material yet.
His outing against the Twins was a good reminder that, while Cavalli's potential is sky-high, he has not quite rounded into ace form yet.