Nats blow a five-run lead and fall (again) in extras

And for the third time in five days, the Nationals went to extra innings. And for the third time in five days, they lost, ultimately by a 7-6 margin to the St. Louis Cardinals in 11 innings.

“I gave everything I had tonight and just got to tip your cap,” Finnegan said. “We’ve been playing a lot of these tough games here lately and it’s a testament to our character that we keep showing up and giving everything that we have. Hopefully, the ball starts bouncing our way and the tides will change here soon.”

Dylan Floro surrendered an RBI single to Nolan Gorman in the 10th, but Keibert Ruiz responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to knot it a 6. Two batters later, Juan Yepez, promoted from Class AAA Rochester earlier in the day. had a chance to be the hero with two runners in scoring position but lined into a double play when Nasim Nuñez, pinch-running for Ruiz, strayed too far from third.

In the 11th, Contreras struck out swinging, but Riley Adams — filling in for Ruiz — couldn’t corral the pitch, allowing Masyn Winn to score. And the Nationals left Yepez stranded on second in the bottom of the frame, securing a loss in the first of a three-game series.

“It’s pretty simple,” Adams said. “It’s a pitch I needed to catch and I didn’t catch it. That’s my job and I didn’t come through there.”

The Nationals’ early offensive output made the closing innings even more difficult to stomach. In the first, Jesse Winker hit an RBI double and Luis García Jr. added an RBI single against Sonny Gray for a 2-0 lead put Washington ahead early.

Yepez, called up to replace struggling Joey Meneses (optioned to Class AAA), led off the second with a hit that sparked a two-run rally and doubled the Nationals’ lead. To clear room on the roster for Yepez, the club transferred pitcher Josiah Gray to the 60-day injured list after he suffered a setback in his rehab from a right flexor strain.

García added a solo homer in the third to make it 5-0.

Meneses, who provided the Nationals with a spark when he debuted in 2022, couldn’t rediscover the player he was during that magical run. This year, Meneses was hitting .231 with a .306 slugging percentage and three home runs. Still, he entered Friday tied for the team RBI lead with CJ Abrams. But his WRC — an adjustable stat that measures a player’s offensive contributions across different ballparks and eras — is 70, the fourth-lowest among qualified major league hitters.

Yepez was hitting .263 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI and a .795 slugging percentage in 74 games for the Red Wings. Now, he’ll have the chance to be the Nationals’ everyday first baseman, though Winker, Adams and Harold Ramirez will also get reps. Whoever plays there, the Nationals will need more from the position — entering Friday, the Nationals have gotten a .613 OPS out of their first basemen, which is 27th in the majors according to TruMedia.

But Yepez, like the Nationals offense as a whole, was quiet following the third inning. He struck out in his next two at-bats and walked in the eighth. The Nationals (41-47) had seven hits in the first three innings, but five over the next six innings.

“We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “We got the lead like that, but the hitting went away for four innings.”

The Cardinals (46-41) mounted a comeback. In the fourth inning, Patrick Corbin loaded the bases before Dylan Carlson hit a sacrifice fly. Pedro Pagés hit an RBI single on a ball that Nick Senzel could’ve snagged to end the fourth inning. Contreras added an RBI single in the fifth.

Corbin threw 91 pitches through five innings, forcing Martinez to turn to a bullpen that has already been taxed as Friday marked game eight of a stretch of 17 games in 17 days before the all-star break.

Robert Garcia covered the sixth. Derek Law put two runners on the seventh, but Hunter Harvey cleaned up his mess by getting Paul Goldschmidt to ground out. In the eighth inning, with Harvey still in the game, Carlson pinch hit and blooped an RBI single into center field that trimmed the Nationals’ lead to one. And then Finnegan came in the ninth and the mistake was made to Contreras.

“It’s tough when you’re asked to pitch a lot but we take pride in that,” Finnegan said. “We’ve been doing a great job of being available. …When you pitch a lot, it’s not always going to go your way, you know? That’s baseball.”