After being tabbed to be among the worst teams in baseball during the 2026 season, the Washington Nationals get a sense of early season vindication after getting back to .500
After multiple chances to get over the hump, Saturday proved to be exactly that after the Washington Nationals held off a late surge by the Baltimore Orioles before piling it on in an eventual 13-3 win at Nationals Park. More importantly, the Nationals have hit .500 again.
The Nationals failed their previous 15 attempts when one game shy of reaching .500, including five tries during the early stages of the Blake Butera era. Yet that changed on Saturday after a resounding 13-3 win against the Baltimore Orioles, taking just the second series win at home this season. The best part about it were the feats accomplished along the way.
Keibert Ruiz dazzled in the win after finishing 3-for-5 with five RBIs to mark a new career high, blasting the game open early with a three-run home run before adding a two run RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Brady House came in to pinch hit for Jose Tena in the seventh inning, immediately knocking through an RBI double into left field to bring James Wood home for the first of seven runs in the seventh. House would account for a run himself in the scoring frenzy before notching the game's final runs after blasting a four seam fastball 369 foot home run over the left field wall, securing a 13-3 win.
Of course, the big picture takeaway is the Nationals' getting back to a point of optimism - and doing so at home, where they've struggled so far this season. The Nationals are one of three teams who have yet to reach ten home wins this season, yet getting back at .500 through 46 games marks a feat.
This marks the latest the Nationals have been .500 since May 14, 2024, making the win in the Beltway Series that much sweeter. Yet for a Nationals team projected to win no more than 70 games this season by virtually every major outlet, it marks a moment of early season vindication for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, Butera and the new Nationals leadership.
Now, the Nationals will now look to pull of the first series sweep at Nationals Park when Miles Mikolas takes the mound for game three on Sunday with first pitch set for 1:35 PM. Yet after watching over 79,400 announced fans in attendance, manager Blake Butera took note of the added "energy and excitement" inside Nationals Park.
"Our players feel that, no doubt. They love playing in front of it, the buzz and the energy playing in front of the crowd," Butera said after Saturday's win. "And going home after games and seeing Navy Yard buzzing, all the Nats jerseys around, it's pretty cool. I just want our fans to know we appreciate it. We feel it."
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