Nathaniel Lowe’s bases-loaded triple keyed a six-run eighth inning and the host Washington Nationals rallied past the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Wednesday night to earn a split of a day-night doubleheader.
Riley Greene hit a pair of three-run homers to lead Detroit to an 11-2 win in the opener.
With the Tigers up 4-3 in the night game, CJ Abrams led off the eighth inning with a single against Tommy Kahnle (0-1). After James Wood walked and Luis Garcia Jr. singled to load the bases, Lowe grounded a shot into the right field corner to clear the bases.
Josh Bell drove in his third run of the night with a double and the lead grew to 7-4. Paul DeJong singled off reliever Brenan Hanifee to bring home pinch runner Alex Call, and DeJong later scored on a groundout to make it 9-4.
Lowe also had an RBI single, Bell finished with three hits and Washington rookie Daylen Lile extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Greene nearly extended his home run streak to four games, but center fielder Jacob Young robbed him with a leaping catch at the wall in the ninth.
Cole Henry (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for his first career win.
After falling behind 6-0 in this first inning of the opener, Washington struck first in the second game. Wood and Garcia singled and Lowe followed with an RBI single. Bell singled, driving in Garcia to make it 2-0.
In the Washington third, Wood walked, stole second and scored on Bell’s two-out single to increase the lead to 3-0.
Detroit got a run in the fourth when Jahmai Jones singled and scored on Spencer Torkelson’s double.
In the sixth, Torkelson walked and went to third on a single by Matt Vierling. Washington starter MacKenzie Gore was removed in favor of Brad Lord, who struck out Wenceel Perez for the second out. Pinch hitter Colt Keith doubled to center, scoring Torkelson with Detroit’s second run, but Vierling was thrown out at home.
Detroit’s Javier Baez led off the seventh with a single. With one out, Jose A. Ferrer replaced Lord and struck out pinch hitter Greene. Gleyber Torres singled and Jones doubled, scoring both runners to make it 4-3.
Gore allowed two runs on three hits, walking four and striking out two in 5 1/3 innings.
Tigers starter Jack Flaherty gave up three runs on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out nine.
–Field Level Media
