On an afternoon when the Nationals were dealing with another blow to their bullpen, starting left-hander Foster Griffin once again provided a consistent force on the mound.
Griffin gave the Nats seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts the same day that late-inning reliever Clayton Beeter was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right forearm soreness.
Griffin dominated with a career-high eight strikeouts in a career-best seven innings in the Nats’ 2-1 win in 10 innings over the White Sox. It was their second 10-inning victory in as many days. Griffin allowed only two hits and two walks. He threw 61 of his 95 pitches for strikes as he utilized his seven-pitch arsenal.
“I really had a good sweeper today, really good changeup to the righties and my cutter to both sides,” Griffin told Nats Journal’s Mark Zuckerman. “I feel like I was able to cut it away, cut it in and then I could go soft away with pretty good command on my changeup to keep them off balance.”
After pitching in Japan the last three years, Griffin is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings across six starts this season. It has been a breakout performance for the 30-year-old who appeared in just seven Major League games from 2020-22.
Griffin became the first Nationals starter to pitch into the seventh frame this season. The last to do so was Mitchell Parker on Sept. 9, 2025, against the Marlins.
“[We have] a ton of trust,” manager Blake Butera told Zuckerman. “He's definitely earned our trust in the staff, no matter what the rest of the year looks like for Foster. Every time he's out there, we seem to know what we're going to get. [He] just does a tremendous job of just pitching and navigating through lineups. He's facing really tough lineups, and just seems to do a better and better job each time.”
At the conclusion of 17 games in 17 days, the Nationals turned to Gus Varland, Richard Lovelady and Paxton Schultz out of the bullpen. They allowed just one unearned run over three frames while pinch-hitter José Tena launched his first home run of the season in the 10th inning to break a scoreless tie.
“It’s great to have that trust in your manager. But just as much I want to do it for our offense and for Blake, I want to do it for the bullpen as well,” said Griffin. “Especially [because] we're at the last game of the 17-game stretch. This bullpen’s been worked and worked and worked. So each extra inning I can get is great for them.”
Schultz, who was called up on Sunday along with fellow reliever Andre Granillo, earned his first career save.
“It’s what we talked about a month ago when we said guys that are in Triple-A and not necessarily on our Major League team right now are still going to make an impact on our team,” Butera said. “And [Schultz] gets his first career save right there on the road in a huge spot in the 10th inning. Guys are celebrating with them right now. Just an awesome moment for Paxton.”
Schultz empathized with Beeter, after having begun the season on the IL himself with right elbow inflammation. Beeter, who is 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA and two saves this season, was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Sunday. He last pitched on Wednesday with a scoreless inning against the Braves.
“I know what he's going through; it’s not fun to watch your team,” Schultz told Zuckerman. “To have us get a win today in a situation he probably would have been in, I feel like that helps him for sure. We’re all in this to win, and I’m hoping he just recovers well.”