Washington Nationals finally get back in the win column

The Nationals snapped their seven game losing streak with a gritty comeback win

Hallelujah! The losing streak is over! After dropping seven in a row, the Nats got back in the win column thanks to a late inning rally. The offense looked stagnant again for most of the game, but they came through in the late innings.

The stars of the team, CJ Abrams and James Wood led the rally. They each had two hits, and Wood drove in the go-ahead run on a double in the corner.

The beginning of the game followed a familiar pattern. While the Nats scored in the first inning, they made silly mistakes to limit what could have been a big rally. Ricky Gutierrez made an ill advised send which led to CJ Abrams being thrown out at home. While an RBI groundout from the struggling Nathaniel Lowe made it 1-0, that could have been a big inning.

Unlike his previous starts, Mitchell Parker was very sharp early, retiring the first six Braves hitters while striking out four. He looked fired up, throwing a tick or two harder than normal. However, he would run into trouble later in his outing.

The Braves began to figure him out in the third. Michael Harris hit what looked to be a homer, but the play was overturned to a triple after review. Stuart Fairchild would drive him in. Fairchild would then score after a Riley Adams throwing error on a stolen base attempt. A Braves rally in the fifth would then make it a 4-1 game.

It looked like the Nats were staring down the barrel of an 8th straight defeat. However, they showed that heart we have not seen in a little while down the stretch. In the seventh, the first two batters reached, but it looked like the inning would fizzle out after a Josh Bell double play. However, Dylan Crews would single Nathaniel Lowe home and then Jose Tena would drive in Crews on a double.

It was 4-3 and the boys were in business if the bullpen could hold the Braves. Cole Henry and Jose A Ferrer would do just that in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Nats a chance to rally.

CJ Abrams would draw his second walk of the day to lead off the inning. After a throwing error got him in scoring position, the hot Amed Rosario would drive him in to tie the game. Then James Wood would deliver what would be the deciding blow with a double into the corner to make it 5-4.

However, the Nats bullpen still needed two clean innings. Miraculously they did just that. Jose A Ferrer was very sharp tonight, showing why he had so much hype entering the season. After getting the last out of the 7th, he pitched a clean 8th.

Then Kyle Finnegan would close the door, pitching for the first time in over a week. After getting the final out, he let out a big yell, which seemed more of a sigh of relief that the losing streak is over. It is so much more fun to write about winning, and the Nats did just that last night for the first time in a while. Now it is time to stack curly W’s.