When the Washington Nationals took the field Sunday afternoon, the defense in front of and behind right-hander Josiah Gray was far from typical. Backup catcher Riley Adams was behind the dish. Reserves Ildemaro Vargas and Michael Chavis were manning the infield up the middle.
“I can’t say enough about those guys that don’t play every day, going out there and doing what they do,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “It was a really good day — good way to finish off the series.”
The Nationals’ rebuild is focused on their youth and potential up the middle. Ruiz, 24, was acquired in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner trade in 2021, then signed an eight-year, $50 million deal this spring. The Nationals got Abrams, 22, and left-hander MacKenzie Gore, 24, as part of the return for Juan Soto. Gray, 25 and a key part of the Scherzer/Turner trade, and Gore are mainstays of the rotation now and in the future. And Abrams is expected to be the everyday shortstop, so the Nationals (20-27) shifted García, 23, to second.
Ruiz has started 39 of the first 47 games. Abrams has started 43. García has started 38 despite missing time with a hamstring injury.
“They’re getting plenty of experience,” Martinez said before the game. “Today was definitely a day where I wanted to make sure that Abrams and Ruiz had a day [off] because they get two days [off] and come back Tuesday [for the series opener against San Diego]. It’s hard to play this game for 162 days, so we got to figure out ways to get them off their feet.”
With Gray on the mound, the Nationals still had a key piece of their young core out there, but he wasn’t at his best. He walked six in five innings and struggled to command his fastball.
Gray walked the Tigers’ Zach McKinstry, the game’s first batter, on five pitches. He issued free passes to two hitters in the second, but the Tigers didn’t score in either inning. And he got an early cushion as Washington knocked Tigers left-hander Joey Wentz out of the game following a death by a thousand singles — or in this case eight, plus a pair of homers.
The Nationals started the first with four straight singles, including RBI hits by Joey Meneses and Stone Garrett that yielded a 2-0 lead. They finished with five singles in the inning, and Dominic Smith grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought home another run.
Adams gave the Nationals their first extra-base hit in the second inning with a leadoff homer on the first pitch. Washington added two more singles in the frame.
Gray allowed an RBI single to Spencer Torkelson in the third after he walked the first two batters he saw. Vargas answered with a two-run homer in the bottom half; Washington was ahead 6-1, and Vargas was the last batter Wentz got to face.
Gray still looked off as the game progressed. He loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, but he was able to escape by getting a forceout, a popout and a flyout. A 1-2-3 fifth concluded his afternoon.
“I’m not going to overthink it,” said Gray, who noted he didn’t use his legs as well as normal or locate as he wanted to. “But to only give up one with nine base runners is a good day. It’s a lucky day, but I definitely got to get better for the next one.”
Avoiding the big inning has given Gray a boost during this breakthrough season. He has allowed three runs or fewer in every outing except for his first. On Sunday, his ERA dipped to 2.65.
Andrés Machado and Kyle Finnegan allowed three runs over the sixth and seventh innings to trim the lead to 6-4, but the Nationals were able to hold on thanks to Carl Edwards Jr. and Hunter Harvey, who got his second save. They didn’t score after the third inning and finished 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position, but Adams kept swinging a hot bat. He came to the plate in the seventh inning a triple short of the cycle, but he fell 90 feet short, settling for a double and his career-high fourth hit.
“I was joking with [first base coach Eric Young Jr.] after I hit that first double: ‘I don’t know if I got a triple in me today; we’re going to need some stuff to happen,’ ” Adams said. “I didn’t have that triple in me, but it was fun. Good to get that team win.”