Nationals Explode for Six in Seventh, Blank Colorado 8-0
Washington turned a tight 1-0 game into a rout with a six-run seventh inning, finishing Colorado off 8-0. Cade Cavalli set the tone on the mound, spinning 6.0 innings of four-hit, zero-run ball with 8 strikeouts.
For five innings this looked like a pitchers' duel. Cavalli was sharp, and Gabriel Hughes was keeping Washington honest — allowing just one run through five on a sacrifice fly that scored Vivas. Then the seventh inning happened, and it happened fast. Nuñez singled to left, Lile scored, and when left fielder Moniak botched the play, Vivas scored too. That single swing — Colorado's win probability collapsing from 31% to 11% — was the moment the game broke open. It's the kind of sequence that looks like a team unraveling in real time.
Washington didn't stop there. García Jr. stepped up and launched a 421-foot home run to center, scoring Nuñez and pushing the lead to 5-0. Then, before Colorado could exhale, Crews singled to center and two more runs scored — one on an error by center fielder Carrigg, one on a throwing error by catcher Sullivan, with Crews ending up safe at third on the same play. Seven runs. One inning. Three separate Colorado errors contributing to the carnage. The story of the night was Washington's lineup refusing to let Colorado's defense off the hook, turning every mistake into maximum damage.
The supporting cast was just as impressive as the box score suggests. CJ Abrams went 4-for-5. Vivas scored twice. Nuñez drove in two and appeared to be the catalyst every time Washington needed a push — including an eighth-inning single that scored Ruiz for the final margin. Eddy Yean followed Cavalli with 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, to close it out cleanly. Washington's pitching staff combined for a shutout, and the offense piled up eight runs on what looks like a complete, wire-to-wire team performance. Colorado, for their part, will want to forget this one quickly — the errors were costly, and Hughes, who struck out five in five innings, deserved better than the 1 ER he was charged with before the bullpen inherited the mess.