Washington Nationals at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball

Washington Nationals

27-31, 17-18 Away

Final
5 - 2

Cleveland Guardians

39-20, 20-7 Home

Joey Meneses, Jake Irvin help Nationals end Guardians' nine-game home winning streak, 5-2

Meneses’ double to deep center field opened the scoring against Carlos Carrasco. Ildemaro Vargas and Lane Thomas had back-to-back RBI singles later in the second to put the Nationals up 4-0 as they avoided a series sweep.

“I’m just looking to stay up the middle and I connected on that pitch very well and it felt great,” Meneses said through a translator.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez was happy to see his team grab a big lead early.

“We harp about scoring first to let our pitchers settle in because they are going to keep us in a lot of games,” Martinez said. “It’s really important to understand that we have to beat up on their starter and let our pitcher get settled down and pitch a little deeper into the game.”

That was enough support for Irvin (3-5), who allowed five hits and one walk while striking out six. Irvin had gone 1/3 in his previous five starts despite a 2.55 ERA.

“It’s awesome. It makes my job a lot easier,” Irvin said of the early lead. “I can just go out there and continue to pound the zone and keep us in that game. Props to those guys. They took a little weight off my shoulders and it was awesome to see.”

The AL Central-leading Guardians’ nine-game home winning streak, their longest since 2017, was snapped.

“We just couldn’t see to square anything up against (Irvin),” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.

Daniel Schneemann cut the Nationals’ lead in half in the bottom of the second inning by lining a two-run double to right field on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues. Schneemann, an infielder/outfielder, had his contract selected by the Guardians from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game.

Schneemann was Cleveland’s 33rd-round draft pick in 2018.

“It’s a day I’ll remember for a really long time,” Schneemann said. “It was a fun day. It was a day I waited a long time for.”

Thomas hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to push the Nationals’ lead to 5-2. The Nationals had scored just three runs while losing the first two games of the series.

Carrasco (2-5) had a rocky return from the injured list, as he was tagged for five runs on seven hits in four innings. He had been sidelined since May 16 with neck spasms.

Kyle Finnegan pitched a scoreless ninth for his 16th save in 18 opportunities.

Vargas had two hits, as did Will Brennan for the Guardians.

TRANSACTIONS

Nationals: C Drew Millas was recalled from Triple-A Rochester and C Riley Adams was optioned there. Adams will also play some first base at Rochester.

Guardians: OF Johnathan Rodriguez was optioned to Columbus, opening a spot on the roster for Schneemann.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: CF Jacob Young (right hand soreness) did not play after being injured during Saturday’s game. He underwent an X-ray, which was negative. … SS CJ Abrams (left shoulder soreness) was a late scratch for a second straight day.

Guardians: 2B Andres Gimenez missed his second straight game with what Vogt said was “soreness” without being specific. Gimenez is expected to return Tuesday night when Cleveland opens a three-game series against Kansas City. … RHP Eli Morgan (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list to clear roster space for Carrasco.

Nationals: LHP MacKenzie Gore (4-4, 2.91 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Monday night in the opener of a three-game home series against the Mets after having 18 strikeouts and one walk while winning his last two starts. New York will pitch RHP Tylor Magill (0-2, 1.69).

Guardians: After having Monday off, second-place Kansas City visits Cleveland in a divisional showdown. RHP Triston McKenzie (2-3, 3.77) will start for the Guardians against Royals RHP Seth Lugo (9-1, 1.72).

How can I watch Washington Nationals vs. Cleveland Guardians?

TV Channel: Nationals at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 59.1%

Nationals: 40.9%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Manzardo flied out to left.
	9th Inning	Brennan to second on fielder's indifference.
	9th Inning	Manzardo hit for Arias
	9th Inning	Brennan singled to left.
	9th Inning	J. Naylor grounded out to second.
	9th Inning	Ramírez flied out to left.

Statistics

WSH		CLE
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
11	Ground Balls	10
8	Strikeouts	7
5	Runs Batted In	2
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
8	Hits	6
1	Stolen Bases	0
2	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
5	Runs	2
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
1	Sacrifice Flies	0
33	At Bats	32
0	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
6	Runners Left On Base	8
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
3	Doubles	2
15	Fly Balls	15
1	Caught Stealing	0
137	Pitches	138
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	1
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	0
11	Total Bases	8
36	Plate Appearances	33
0.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
3	Extra Base Hits	2
3.1	Runs Created	1.0
.242	Batting Average	.188
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.333	Slugging Percentage	.250
.152	Secondary Average	.094
.278	On Base Percentage	.212
.611	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.462
0.7	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.7
3.1	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	1.0
35.0	Batter Rating	18.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
0.50	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.81	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.18
.091	Isolated Power	.063
0.25	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.14
.056	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.030
-.091	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.094
10.0	Runs Produced	4.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.3
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.2
80.5	MLB Rating	69.0
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0