Jorbit Vivas swings the eighth as Nationals rally past Angels 4-3

A one-run game until Washington found one clean swing

Mike Trout put the Angels in front immediately with a 416-foot home run to center in the first inning, and for a while that looked like it might be enough in a game where offense came in small, careful bursts. Los Angeles finished with only four hits, but the early lead gave its pitchers room to work and forced Washington to spend most of the night playing from just behind.

The Nationals pulled level in the fourth when James Wood singled to left to score Harry Ford, but the game never opened up. Yusei Kikuchi worked 4.0 innings for the Angels, allowing one run on three hits and four walks while striking out five, and the middle innings only got quieter after he left. Luke Murphy, Jose Fermin and Ryan Watson combined for 3.0 scoreless innings without allowing a hit, a stretch that helped Los Angeles edge back ahead in the seventh when Christian Moore singled to left to bring home Vaughn Grissom.

That slim margin carried into the eighth, when Washington finally turned pressure into damage. Andrew Pinckney’s sacrifice fly to right scored CJ Abrams to tie the game at 2-2, with Dylan Crews moving to third. Then came the decisive swing: Vivas doubled to right, scoring Crews and Yohandy Morales for a 4-2 lead. The Angels answered once in the ninth on Moore’s RBI double to center that scored Oswald Peraza, but no more than that, and Washington’s late push held up.

Cavalli kept the door open, and the Nationals kept knocking

Washington’s comeback started with the fact that Cade Cavalli never let the game get away. His official line was strong enough to anchor the night: 6.0 innings, three hits, two runs, two walks and nine strikeouts on 96 pitches. After Trout’s first-inning homer, Cavalli gave the Nationals a chance to stay within one swing, and that mattered because their offense spent so much of the evening threatening without finishing the job.

There was traffic almost all night. Washington managed only six hits and hit no home runs, but it drew five walks, stole three bases and kept turning the lineup over. Brady House reached three times with a hit and two walks. Abrams had a two-hit game and scored once. Crews scored twice. Ford reached and scored the tying run in the fourth. The Nationals did not overwhelm the Angels with contact; they simply kept building innings until one finally tipped their way.

They also helped themselves in the field. Washington committed no errors and turned three double plays, a valuable counterweight on a night when every run mattered. The Angels made the game’s only error, and they also allowed those three Nationals steals. In a 4-3 result, those smaller edges are not decorative details. They are often the difference between a comeback waiting to happen and one that never arrives.

Our take: pressure won it, but neither lineup leaves fully satisfied

Our take: Washington earned this result by making Los Angeles solve the same problem over and over. The Nationals hit just .200 as a team and stranded 16 runners, so this was hardly a polished offensive performance. But five walks, three stolen bases and repeated baserunners eventually cracked the game open against Samy Natera Jr., whose eighth inning became the turning point when he allowed three runs on three hits and a walk.

Our take: the Angels will look at this as a winnable game that asked too much of too little offense. Trout’s homer gave them a clean start, and Moore drove in two more runs, but the rest of the attack was sparse: four hits total, 11 strikeouts and eight men left on base. Washington, meanwhile, should enjoy the comeback while recognizing the same warning in reverse. Leaving 16 runners aboard is the kind of waste that can flatten a strong pitching night. On Friday, the Nationals had just enough chances for one late double to cover it. They may not always get that many opportunities to miss before finding the right swing.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Inning

   Trout homered to center (416 feet).

2. 4th Inning

   Wood singled to left, Ford scored, Vivas to second.

3. 7th Inning

   Moore singled to left, Grissom scored, Ballesteros to second.

4. 8th Inning

   Pinckney hit sacrifice fly to right, Abrams scored, Crews to third.

5. 8th Inning

   Vivas doubled to right, Crews scored and Morales scored.

6. 9th Inning

   Moore doubled to center, Peraza scored.