WASHINGTON -- Through eight innings, the Nationals looked to be on pace to close out a win utilizing just two pitchers.
Starter Zack Littell had delivered his strongest outing of the season with five scoreless innings. Long reliever Andrew Alvarez, who was recalled from Triple-A for this scenario, had cruised through three scoreless frames.
A 3-0 lead in the ninth quickly turned into a gutsy final frame in which three pitchers took the mound to secure a 3-2 victory.
“Obviously, it didn't go the way we had hoped it would in the ninth,” said manager Blake Butera. “But also understanding this is a really good team, and to keep them scoreless for eight innings is not easy. [It was] intense, for sure. We want the ninth inning to be a breeze. But the ninth inning is different.”
Alvarez had limited the O’s to two hits in his first three innings. But he allowed a single to Samuel Basallo and a walk to Tyler O’Neill to put two on with no outs at the start of the ninth, prompting Butera to make the call for Gus Varland. The righty gave up a walk to pinch-hitter Leody Tavarez, struck out Coby Mayo and gave up a sacrifice fly to Jeremiah Jackson.
With Gunnar Henderson on-deck, Butera then called on lefty Richard Lovelady.
“In a perfect world we wanted Alvy to finish that game, and we finish with Littell going five and Alvy going four,” Butera said. “But we also knew if things got hairy there in the ninth, we had Gus ready to go and then we had Lovelady right behind him ready for the top [of the order].”
Henderson drove in O’Neill off Lovelady to make it a one-run game with two outs. Lovelady walked Taylor Ward before facing Adley Rutschman with the save on the line. Lovelady attacked him with all sweepers, catching him swinging at the fourth and final pitch of the game. He earned his second save of the season.
“At the end of the day, this game's hard,” said Lovelady. “Any situation to be in and have trust from the manager to go out there and get the outs means everything.”
The game that ended up being a collaborative effort from the pitching staff was anchored by Littell’s continued improvement.
Littell delivered five scoreless frames for the first time since July 30, 2025, against the Yankees as a member of the Rays. He allowed two hits, two walks, one hit-by-pitch and three strikeouts across 87 pitches.
Littell has been turning a page since his ERA peaked at 7.85 on April 28. Over his past three outings, the right-hander has posted a 2.13 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP and .186 opponents’ batting average.
“Obviously I'm sure they were happy to see me get through that, but I think more than anything, it was nice to just prove to myself that we can go out there and get guys out in big spots,” Littell said. “It means a lot. The staff has been awesome, Blake's been awesome, telling me they're going to stick with me and giving me the room to earn the trust back that we kind of lost over those few starts. So it was huge.”
After being part of a combined shutout as a starter in his Major League debut last Sept. 1 against the Marlins, Alvarez found himself in a similar situation again out of the bullpen on Friday. Even though he was charged with two runs, Alvarez is 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA in seven career big league appearances.
“It’s obviously a team effort,” Alvarez said. “I’m just staying prepared … continue to go about my routines and trust my stuff. At the end of the day, it’s still me out on the mound, whether I'm starting or relieving, so it's not a whole lot of change. I'm grateful for any opportunity that comes my way.”