Kansas City Royals at Washington Nationals
· Major League Baseball
6 - 2
Avila rebounds, taking a shutout into the 6th as the Royals beat Washington 6-2 to avoid a sweep
Carter Jensen led off the game with a home run, and John Rave, Lane Thomas and Michael Massey also went deep as the Royals avoided a three-game sweep in Washington. Avila (2-3) allowed a run and three hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Jensen's drive to right off Zack Littell (6-6) — his first of four hits — opened the scoring. Rave added a home run in the second. Then Thomas and Massey hit back-to-back homers in the third.
Rave tripled to lead off the sixth and scored on Isaac Collins' squeeze bunt. Bobby Witt Jr. added an RBI single later that inning.
Avila rebounded nicely after allowing eight runs in 2/3 of an inning in his previous start, a 10-8 loss to the Houston Astros. He was pulled Wednesday with two outs in the sixth and a runner on first. CJ Abrams greeted reliever Matt Strahm with an RBI double, then came home on Dylan Crews' single to make it 6-2.
The Royals won for just the second time in eight games.
Littell allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings. He has lost back-to-back starts after going seven in a row without a defeat.
The Nationals are off Thursday before a series at Tampa Bay. Cade Cavalli (4-4) takes the mound for Washington on Friday night.
How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Washington Nationals?
- TV Channel: Royals at Nationals 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Scoring Summary
 |
9th Inning | Lile flied out to right. |
|
9th Inning | Crews lined out to center. |
|
9th Inning | Abrams popped out to first. |
|
9th Inning | Mead to second on passed ball by Jensen. |
|
9th Inning | Mead hit by pitch. |
 |
9th Inning | Lange relieved Schreiber |
Statistics
 KC |
 WSH |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Games Played | 1 |
| 1 | Team Games Played | 1 |
| 0 | Hit By Pitch | 1 |
| 9 | Ground Balls | 9 |
| 3 | Strikeouts | 6 |
| 6 | Runs Batted In | 2 |
| 1 | Sacrifice Hit | 0 |
| 13 | Hits | 6 |
| 2 | Stolen Bases | 0 |
| 4 | Walks | 1 |
| 0 | Catcher Interference | 0 |
| 6 | Runs | 2 |
| 0 | Ground Into Double Play | 1 |
| 0 | Sacrifice Flies | 0 |
| 37 | At Bats | 31 |
| 4 | Home Runs | 0 |
| 0 | Grand Slam Home Runs | 0 |
| 16 | Runners Left On Base | 10 |
| 1 | Triples | 0 |
| 1 | Game Winning RBIs | 0 |
| 0 | Intentional Walks | 0 |
| 1 | Doubles | 1 |
| 26 | Fly Balls | 16 |
| 1 | Caught Stealing | 0 |
| 169 | Pitches | 142 |
| 0 | Games Started | 0 |
| 0 | Pinch At Bats | 0 |
| 0 | Pinch Hits | 0 |
| 0.0 | Player Rating | 0.0 |
| 1 | Is Qualified | 1 |
| 1 | Is Qualified In Steals | 0 |
| 28 | Total Bases | 7 |
| 42 | Plate Appearances | 33 |
| 648.0 | Projected Home Runs | 0.0 |
| 6 | Extra Base Hits | 1 |
| 10.6 | Runs Created | 1.2 |
| .351 | Batting Average | .194 |
| .000 | Pinch Hit Average | .000 |
| .757 | Slugging Percentage | .226 |
| .541 | Secondary Average | .065 |
| .415 | On Base Percentage | .242 |
| 1.171 | OBP Pct + SLG Pct | .468 |
| 0.3 | Ground To Fly Ball Ratio | 0.6 |
| 11.0 | Runs Created Per 27 Outs | 1.2 |
| 55.5 | Batter Rating | 16.0 |
| 9.3 | At Bats Per Home Run | 0.0 |
| 0.67 | Stolen Base Percentage | 0.00 |
| 4.02 | Pitches Per Plate Appearance | 4.30 |
| .405 | Isolated Power | .032 |
| 1.33 | Walk To Strikeout Ratio | 0.17 |
| .095 | Walks Per Plate Appearance | .030 |
| .189 | Secondary Average Minus Batting Average | -.129 |
| 12.0 | Runs Produced | 4.0 |
| 1.0 | Runs Ratio | 1.0 |
| 0.8 | Patience Ratio | 0.3 |
| 0.3 | Balls In Play Average | 0.2 |
| 106.8 | MLB Rating | 68.8 |
| 0.0 | Offensive Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
| 0.0 | Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
Game Information
Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Attendance: 17,643 | Capacity:
2026 American League Central Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/chw.png" class="logo-micro">Chicago | 55 | 49 | .529 | - | W1 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/cle.png" class="logo-micro">Cleveland | 54 | 53 | .505 | 2.5 | L5 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/min.png" class="logo-micro">Minnesota | 53 | 54 | .495 | 3.5 | W2 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/det.png" class="logo-micro">Detroit | 50 | 56 | .472 | 6 | L2 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/kc.png" class="logo-micro">Kansas City | 45 | 62 | .421 | 11.5 | W2 |
2026 National League East Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/atl.png" class="logo-micro">Atlanta | 62 | 43 | .590 | - | W1 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/phi.png" class="logo-micro">Philadelphia | 56 | 49 | .533 | 6 | L4 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/wsh.png" class="logo-micro">Washington | 54 | 52 | .509 | 8.5 | W2 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/mia.png" class="logo-micro">Miami | 52 | 54 | .491 | 10.5 | L12 |
| <img src="https://a.espncdn.com/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/nym.png" class="logo-micro">New York | 44 | 62 | .415 | 18.5 | W1 |