23 for D.C.! Nationals put up monster run total behind Chaparro's 8-RBI night

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Held to just eight total runs in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the Nationals closed the first half below .500 and with a bad taste in their mouths. They needed to turn the tide.

“After the All-Star break, everybody wanted to come back and show that we’re here to compete,” infielder Andrés Chaparro said through interpreter Mauricio Ortiz.

Consider that statement made.

The Nats came out swinging in Friday’s road series opener against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, piling up 21 hits in a 23-4 romp to start the second half on a strong note. Their 23 runs were tied for the second most in a game in franchise history.

“They just rake,” Washington pitcher Cade Cavalli said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Tossing six innings with nine strikeouts to pick up his sixth win of the year, Cavalli allowed just two runs. In return, he got a whopping 18 runs of support from his offense, including crooked numbers in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Chaparro, who came into Friday’s game batting just .167 (9-for-54) with a .585 OPS, drove in eight of those runs himself. The first baseman’s career night featured four hits, including two-run and three-run home runs. His first dinger, off lefty reliever José Suarez in the fifth inning, traveled 467 feet, the fourth-longest homer hit by a National under Statcast tracking (since 2015).

“I feel really good,” Chaparro said. “I needed this day, right?”

So did the Nationals. They got back to the .500 mark with a lopsided victory, breaking the 20-run threshold with five more tallies in the ninth against A’s outfielder-turned-pitcher Carlos Cortes. Daylen Lile took advantage of the position player on the mound with a three-run homer, the fourth Nats dinger of the evening -- all with at least one man on base.

The clutch hitting started early. With two on and two out in the third inning, third baseman Curtis Mead battled back from an 0-2 count and ripped a two-run double to left field on the ninth pitch of his at-bat. Chaparro followed with a first-pitch single to score him.

“They’ve been doing it all year, and tonight was special,” Cavalli said of Washington’s offense, which has scored an MLB-high 539 runs. “From the get-go, they were putting great at-bats together, putting pressure on the defense. They just keep doing it.”

All nine Nationals starters recorded a hit, and so did infielder José Tena, who entered as a defensive substitution in the seventh inning and had just one at-bat. Still, he made it count, lacing a single off Cortes in the ninth.

It was the first time 10 or more Nats all hit safely since a 19-5 loss to the Mets on April 28, 2025, in Washington -- a defeat nearly as lopsided as Friday’s win.

Things got so out of hand in the club’s first-ever game in West Sacramento that not only did Cortes pitch the top of the ninth, but Nats infielder Jorbit Vivas also closed out the game. He topped out at a scorching 56.3 mph and gave up two runs (one earned) in his second career pitching appearance, but he still finished what went down as the second-biggest win in franchise history in terms of run differential.

Right in the middle of it all was Chaparro, who batted third with left-handed starter Gage Jump on the mound for the A’s. A considerably better hitter against southpaws in his career, Chaparro made his mark not only against lefties Jump and Suarez, but also against right-hander Yunior Tur. He singled in the sixth and ripped a line drive for a three-run homer in the seventh against Tur, who was roughed up in his Major League debut.

With four hits, a walk and eight RBIs -- the most by a National since 2018 -- Chaparro raised his OPS nearly 200 points to .776.

“It’s huge,” manager Blake Butera said. “Hopefully it boosts his confidence a ton. The results haven’t been there for him early on, but he’s had really good at-bats. He’s put some good swings on balls. Just happy to see him have some success tonight.”

That success was felt teamwide on Friday, and the Nats needed it. They forced the A’s to use five relief pitchers to cover 5 1/3 innings while using only one reliever, apart from Vivas.

And they got their offensive mojo back, at least for now.

“This team is really special, and we’re built for good things,” Chaparro said.