The Washington Nationals will look to extend their season-best five-game winning streak when they open a three-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants on Friday.
The Nationals blew a ninth-inning lead on Thursday but got a game-winning single from Amed Rosario in the 10th for an 8-7 victory.
San Francisco opens a nine-game road swing after dropping two of three to the visiting Kansas City Royals.
Washington center fielder Robert Hassell III scored the winning run on Thursday in his first major league game, beginning the 10th as the runner on second. The 23-year-old singled in his first big league at-bat and finished 2-for-5 with a steal and two runs.
“It felt great,” said Hassell, who became the first player in the club’s Washington era to produce two hits and a stolen base in his big-league debut. “Truly the most important thing is we got the W. It feels amazing to win.”
Acquired as part of the Juan Soto trade with the San Diego Padres in 2022, Hassell was called up Wednesday when outfielder Dylan Crews (strained left oblique) went on the injured list.
James Wood had two hits and drove in three runs, and Keibert Ruiz added two hits for Washington. Wood has hit safely in 16 of 19 games this month, batting .356 (26-for-73) in that span.
The Nationals will send left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-4, 3.67 ERA) to face right-hander Landen Roupp (2-3, 4.11) on Friday.
Gore, who also came to Washington in the Soto trade, is coming off a very odd outing. Against the Baltimore Orioles on May 16, he allowed 10 hits but just two runs in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out nine batters and walked two, leaving after 102 pitches.
“We probably got to get under the hood and see what’s going on but … I thought I threw the ball well,” Gore said afterward. “We got to figure out and see exactly what happened. We don’t need that to happen again.”
Gore is 3-1 with a 6.05 ERA in four career starts vs. San Francisco.
Roupp is coming off his best outing of the season. Against the Athletics on Saturday, he tossed six shutout innings, allowing five hits. He struck out five and walked two.
“It feels really good to throw up some zeros and come out with zeros on the board,” the 26-year-old said. “Just felt like I mixed it up a lot better tonight. Threw a lot more changeups, cutters. Kind of used my curveball as a get-me-out-of-a-jam pitch rather than just throwing it all the time.”
Roupp has never started against Washington. He made two relief appearances vs. the Nationals in April 2024, and he gave up two runs in 1 2/3 innings.
The surprising Giants are eight games over .500 despite ranking 12th in the National League with a .236 team batting average. They boast several hot hitters, including Heliot Ramos, who is batting .397 with six homers and 16 RBIs over his past 22 games. He has a .442 average in his past 12 games.
Wilmer Flores meanwhile, is hitting .304 with three homers, 10 RBIs and seven walks over his past 13 games. He has 10 homers and 42 RBIs on the season.
“It’s not just the RBIs, it’s when he gets the RBIs,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “There’ve been so many games he’s impacted more than just the RBIs. It’s really hard to envision where we’d be without him right now. He’s been crucial.”
–Field Level Media
