Nats offensive show bludgeons Diamondbacks
The Washington Nationals have been the surprise team of the first half of the 2026 MLB season.
Coming into this season, no one in their right mind would have bet that the Nats would have the most potent offense in the entire league. But 10 weeks into the season, that is exactly where their bats rank.
The pitching has fluctuated from being atrocious to decent, as has the defense, which still leads the league in errors per game by a pretty wide margin. Still, the defense has played better at times, though not nearly consistently enough.
The only other aspect of the team's identity that has been consistent so far this season, other than the offense, is the team´s affinity for playing on the road.
The Nats are a more than respectable 21-12 on the road. If they were even decent at home, the team would be well in play for a wild-card spot. But the Nats are only 12-20 when playing in the District so far this season.
There was cause for concern last week after the Nats were swept at home by the Miami Marlins, a team that had just been swept by the New York Mets, in a series in which they never scored more than 3 runs in a game.
The Nats average nearly 5.4 runs per game this season, which ranks best in all of baseball.
So coming into this west coast trip with a first stop in Arizona, you could bet that the Nats' bats weren't going to remain dormant for long.
Nats blow out Arizona, put themselves in line for a sweep
The Washington Nationals kicked in the door of the series against Arizona by blitzing the Diamondbacks 14-1 Friday night.
The team clubbed 5 home runs, with first baseman Luis Garcia Jr hitting two of them, including a grand slam.
Foster Griffin, the team's best pitcher so far this season, was given an early night at the office, allowing 1 run over 5 innings. Manager Blake Butera decided that a 7-1 lead was more than enough cushion for his bullpen to finish off the game, and he was right. Paxton Schultz and Cole Henry gave up two hits each and combined for 3 strikeouts over the final four scoreless frames.
Then on Saturday, the team's bats and pitching came back in sync, finishing the game with a much more respectable (for Arizona) 6-1 victory.
Curtis Mead started the afternoon off with a two-run shot to left field in the first inning. And Dylan Crews, who has been scuffling a bit since rejoining the team two weeks ago after starting the season in AAA, followed up with a monster, 432-foot solo shot of his own in the 7th inning.
But the story of this game was stellar pitching once again.
Starting pitcher Zack Littell has absolutely turned his season around after starting off the year as the worst pitcher on the worst staff in baseball.
In April, Littell started five games, only pitched 23.2 innings in those starts, while giving up 11 home runs on the way to a 7.85 ERA. But he turned his season around in May, as the team switched up his routine, using him as a starter in three games and using a relief pitcher as an opener for him in three others.
The strategy has worked as Littell's innings pitched jumped to 30.2 last month, and his home runs allowed and ERA dropped to 2 and a stellar 2.35, respectively. He allowed 10 fewer hits than he did the month prior across 7 more innings while dropping the number of earned runs to 8 in May from 22 in April.
The Nats move on to face the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, and Tampa Bay Rays, all on the road over the next two weeks. Usually, a road trip that long is a daunting task for a team, but for the 2026 Washington Nationals, this road trip may be just what the team needs to really start making a push to secure a spot in the postseason.
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This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 11:52 AM.