WASHINGTON – Nasim Nuñez narrowly missed his first home run of the season. Instead, he ended up with an all-around game that showcased his speed, athleticism and grit.
In the Nats’ 6-4 win over the Royals at Nationals Park on Tuesday, Nuñez became only the seventh player in team history (2005-present) to hit at least two triples in a single game.
Nuñez joined Daylen Lile (Sept. 5, 2025), CJ Abrams (April 7, 2023), Ben Revere (Aug. 13, 2016), Denard Span (May 31, 2013), Cristian Guzmán (April 7, 2008) and Bernie Castro (Sept. 16, 2006), all of whom recorded two triples.
The Nationals improved to 39-35 and have won four in a row.
Nuñez hit a line-drive RBI triple to right field in the third inning, lacing a changeup from Michael Wacha that bounced toward the outfield corner. Nuñez churned around the bases at a 29 feet per second sprint speed.
In the fifth, Nuñez belted a slider 383 feet to the center-field wall. He narrowly missed his first dinger of the season. (It would have been a homer at four ballparks.) When Nuñez saw the ball was still in play, he charged to third base at 29.2 feet per second. He reached safely on a stand-up triple, evading an outstretched tag attempt by Maikel Garcia.
Nuñez didn’t stop hustling. He earned a leadoff walk against reliever Daniel Lynch IV in a pivotal seventh inning. When James Wood grounded out to shortstop, Nuñez avoided the double play by sliding head-first into second base. He then stole his NL-leading 26th base of the season. The next at-bat, Nuñez scored on Curtis Mead’s go-ahead three-run homer.
Nuñez, meanwhile, helped keep the Royals off the bases. In the second inning, he laid out on the grass to make a diving catch to rob a Tyler Tolbert line drive. In the ninth, he made another diving snag -- this time to start a double play and empty the bases.