Nationals continue hot hitting in desert to back Littell's strong start

PHOENIX – The Nationals had a quick turnaround from a Friday evening matchup to a Saturday afternoon matinee at Chase Field. Their bats didn’t cool off overnight. In fact, they claimed a two-run lead just two batters into the game.

After hitting five home runs in the series opener, the Nationals jumped out to an early advantage and crushed two more in a 6-1 win over the D-backs.

“It was really good, first off, to get out of the gates the way we did,” said manager Blake Butera. “... To go up 2-0 right away, I think that kind of set the tone for us today and kept the momentum in our favor.”

Just like on Friday with Luis García Jr., the second at-bat of the game resulted in a two-run home run. Curtis Mead jumped on a cutter in a 2-1 count from Eduardo Rodriguez for a Statcast-projected 411-foot, 104.3 mph homer to drive in James Wood.

“I felt like I did a good job,” said Mead. “The 1-0 pitch was a changeup up and out over the plate for a strike. But the plan for me was to kind of try to get him close to me and look for something that I could drive to left-center. I think that taking that pitch ultimately led to getting the pitch that I was looking for.”

That early advantage gave starter Zack Littell a cushion to continue his season turnaround. With the lead, Littell threw a perfect game through three innings and held the D-backs hitless through four innings.

After the D-backs put a run on the board off Littell in the fifth, Dylan Crews answered with his second home run of the season. Crews smacked a first-pitch fastball from Rodriguez 432 feet to left-center field at 108.6 mph. It was the farthest-hit home run of his career and the longest since his 429-foot homer on April 22, 2025.

“It’s one of the best feelings in the world when you can connect on a baseball like that and hit it for a home run,” said Crews. “It’s one of the best feelings ever. It’s what you work for every day.”

The offensive power was the outcome of the work Crews, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester during Spring Training, has been putting in all season. He channeled his disappointment from going 0-for-5 on Friday into production.

“Players get in trouble when they have a game like yesterday and maybe don't see the box score light up, and they try to change something,” said Butera. “But credit to him for sticking with it.”

From Opening Day through the end of May, the Nationals scored the most runs in all of baseball. For context, their 324 runs were ahead of the Braves (316), Dodgers (314) and Yankees (305). But in their first series of June, they were swept by the Marlins and outscored by 11 (18-7). They hit only one home run in that three-game set.

On Friday, their 14-run outburst put them back on track. By taking the first two games in Phoenix, the Nationals have won their fourth consecutive road series. It is their longest streak since May 2018, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The Nats, who are 26-10 when they score first, will look for the sweep on Sunday.

“I think the Diamondbacks are probably not thrilled falling behind straightaway again,” said Mead. “It sets the tone for the whole game, so I think it’s definitely important.”