Daylen Lile had three hits including a solo home run, Keibert Ruiz hit a two-run homer and the Nationals defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-1 on Thursday to earn a split of the four-game series.
Jacob Young had a double, single, walk and two stolen bases for Washington and Brady House had two hits and two RBIs.
Reliever Tom Cosgrove (1-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win as Nationals relievers tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
TJ Rumfield had a single and four walks for the Rockies, who lost for the 82nd time this season.
The teams combined to leave 25 runners on base in a game that featured 15 total walks.
The Nationals took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews opened with singles and advanced on a wild pitch. Abrams scored on Lile’s one-out single and House lifted a sacrifice fly to score Crews.
Willi Castro was hit by a pitch with one out in the third and stole second. After Rumfield and Troy Johnston walked to load the bases, Brett Sullivan hit a grounder up the middle. Second baseman Jorbit Vivas made a diving attempt but could only knock the ball down and Castro came in to make the score 2-1.
In the Washington fourth, Young walked and stole second. Vivas walked and Nasim Nunez bunted the runners over. After Abrams was intentionally walked, Crews was out on a slow roller up the third-base line, but Young scored to make it 3-1.
Colorado starter Gabriel Hughes (0-6) gave up four runs on seven hits over five innings.
Rumfield and Connor Norby singled with one out in the fifth. Cosgrove replaced starter Jake Irvin and sandwiched two strikeouts around a walk to end the threat.
Lile homered leading off the fifth to put Washington up 4-1.
After a walk and a single, pinch hitter Hunter Goodman represented the tying run at the plate with two outs in the seventh. Clayton Beeter came on and, after the first pitch, catcher Ruiz picked off Johnston at first.
Lile singled in the eighth and scored on House’s double. Ruiz followed with a two-run homer and 7-1 lead for the Nationals.
Irvin allowed a run on three hits. He had a season-high six walks over 4 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
