Nationals deliver rare victory over Rays

Field Level Media|published: Sat 20th June, 19:43 2026

Jun 20, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) lays down a bunt against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Andres Chaparro dribbled in the tiebreaking run, Washington's bullpen finished with 6 1/3 strong innings, and the Nationals won 4-3 over Tampa Bay to even their series with the Rays on Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.

CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews (two hits) each had a solo homer. Nasim Nunez was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI as the Nats won for the first time in six games against the Rays.

Winner Mitchell Parker (3-3), Brad Lord and Clayton Beeter (fifth save) combined to allow just one run and four hits over 6 1/3 innings while fanning nine and walking three.

Coming off a bout with food poisoning, starter Cade Cavalli went 2 2/3 innings and yielded two runs on six hits. He walked three with a strikeout.

Washington center fielder Jacob Young left in the eighth after making a fine running catch and crashing into the wall.

Junior Caminero went 3-for-3 with a run, RBI and intentional walk but made a baserunning blunder in the seventh with the tying runner on third. Yandy Diaz had two hits. Taylor Walls doubled, scored, walked twice and stole two bases.

Ian Seymour (3-1) allowed three runs on seven hits over five frames. He fanned four without a walk.

The Rays opened the first with three consecutive singles, including Cedric Mullins' bunt that was called an out but challenged and overturned. Caminero followed with a sacrifice fly.

For the second straight game, Abrams popped a homer in his first at-bat. Nunez doubled in a run for the Nats' first lead in the second.

Chandler Simpson evened the matchup in the third by lining a single to plate Caminero.

The Nats never trailed again after Chaparro's swinging-bunt dribbler scored Keibert Ruiz for a 3-2 lead in the fifth.

In the seventh, Caminero beat out an infield single and tried to advance on Nunez' errant high thrown that rattled off the dugout.

Perhaps thinking the ball went out of play, Caminero seemed to let up going to second and was nabbed on a throw by first baseman Chaparro for the third out of the inning, instead of there being runners on second and third with two down.

Crews added difference-making insurance by homering for the fifth time in the ninth.

Diaz drove in a run to cut it to 4-3 against Beeter, but the right-hander whiffed Mullins and struck out Ben Williamson looking with a slider to finish it.

--Field Level Media