For the last few weeks, the Nationals offense has been heavily reliant on James Wood and CJ Abrams. However, with Abrams out of the lineup, and Wood not having the best game, it was on the supporting cast to get the job done. Led by Nasim Nunez, the Nats were able to put six runs on the board and win the game in extra innings.
Nasim Nunez does a lot of great things on the baseball field. He is an incredibly smooth defender and is one of the best baserunners in the league when he gets on base. However, he is not known for his bat, and has gotten off to a pretty dreadful start at the plate. Even after this game, he is just hitting .195 with a .505 OPS.
The great thing about this Nats offense though is that different guys have stepped up when needed. Today was Nunez’s time to shine. He drove in four runs on two ultra-clutch hits, including one in the 10th inning to break the game open.
Have a day Nasim Nats lead 6-2 in 10th inning pic.twitter.com/CzlA6hf42e
There have been times this season where Nunez seemed like he was trying to do too much. After shockingly hitting four home runs last September, Nunez may have fallen in love with his power too much. You could tell during some at bats that he really wanted to lift the ball. Today, he was not trying to do too much, which is when he is at his best.
Nunez should be trying to get on base whatever way he can. Whether that is bunting or selling out for contact, putting the ball in play should be Nunez’s main focus. He still struck out twice today, but in the biggest moments, Nunez was staying within himself.
This game was not all about Nunez though. The other big hero was Jake Irvin, who had his best start of the season. Coming into this game, Irvin had an ERA of 6.00, but I thought he was pitching a lot better than he was last year. Today, the results matched his improved stuff. He had 16 whiffs, the most he has had in a game since June of 2024.
16-whiff day for Jake Irvin. That's the most swing-and-miss he's gotten in a start since 6/23/2024. If he can get the swing-and-miss to stabilize around 25 percent, he's a different pitcher. 11 whiffs on the curveball today. Great outing.
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) April 25, 2026
Seeing those whiffs is a great sign for Irvin. When he was at his best in the first half of 2024, he was getting solid whiff numbers. He was not overpowering, but he had enough in the tank for hitters to respect him. Irvin has actually been a big strikeout guy to start this season, with 34 in 29.2 innings. He was not even striking guys out like that in his big first half a couple years ago.
Today, his curveball was a whiff monster. He got 11 of his 16 whiffs on the hook. You do not see a ton of big slow curve’s like Irvin’s anymore, but they are so nice to watch. Irvin’s command of the curveball was absolutely outstanding today. He was putting it right at the bottom of the zone or putting it slightly out of the zone. It was just too much for hitters not to swing at and he had White Sox batters fishing all afternoon.
Jake Irvin, Nasty Curveballs. 😨 pic.twitter.com/HnEv5aG00l
Honestly, I think Blake Butera’s hook for Irvin was pretty quick. After a disastrous sequence from Keibert Ruiz turned a strikeout into having a guy on second, Irvin buckled down. He got two more strikeouts, but Butera had seen enough. With a lefty coming up, he went to Mitchell Parker. While Parker got out of the inning, I would have preferred to see Butera stick with his starter.
It was another shaky game for Butera today. He stuck with Mitchell Parker for a bit too long and Cionel Perez almost gave me a heart attack. However, I do like that he went to Brad Lord for a single inning high leverage spot in the 10th inning. Lord is more than a long man, and should be treated as such.
It was a gritty win for the Nats. They drew 10 walks, and consistently had guys on base. The floodgates did not truly open until the 10th inning, but the Nats pressure eventually paid off. It was a nice win, and now they will go for the series win tomorrow.