Washington Nationals crush Minnesota Twins 15-2, even series

WASHINGTON, D.C. — May 6, 2026 — The Washington Nationals rode multi-hit performances from six of their nine starting position players to a dominant 15-2 victory.

The offense started slow, going down in order three consecutive times before finally recording their first hit in the bottom of the fourth. Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams got them on the board shortly after with an RBI double. After a Twins home run put them up 2-1 in the top of the fourth, Nationals catcher Drew Millas hit a go-ahead two-run home run to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead — their first of the ballgame.

From there, the offense exploded, recording four extra-base hits in a three-run sixth inning to go with three home runs in the team’s final two offensive innings.

“The [offense] did a really good job of staying through the middle of the field,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “Doubles, extra-base hits to left center and right center, and then [did a good job] on the bases as well.”

Abrams now sits tied for the MLB lead with 33 RBIs after a big night with five RBIs — capped by a grand slam, his ninth home run of the season.

Typically a leadoff hitter without a chance to drive in many runs under former Nationals manager Davey Martinez, Abrams is already halfway to surpassing his career high for RBIs in a season.

Abrams also raised his season OPS to .960 after the night — good for seventh place in all of MLB. With Abrams on pace for a career year, speculation about a trade — or a contract extension — will likely follow, especially in the soon-to-be summer months when the trade deadline looms.

Nationals designated hitter Jose Tena has sneakily been one of the Nationals’ hottest hitters over the past week. Hitting primarily out of the bottom half of the lineup, Tena has recorded an extra-base hit in four straight games, the second-longest such streak in all of MLB right now.

“I think [Tena’s] been really good all the way around since the season started,” Butera said. “Whenever his name is called, he’s just ready to go.”

Tena has raised his season batting average to .297 and his OPS to .832, both well above the current MLB average marks of .243 and .714.

If Tena can continue to hit for extra bases and have patient at-bats, he may well carve out a role in the Nationals’ lineup of the future.

Just over one month to the date of being booed off the mound after surrendering 11 runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Nationals home opener, Mikolas exited to cheers from an enthusiastic crowd following perhaps his best performance of the season.

Mikolas tossed 5 1/3 innings — a season-long — striking out three Twins hitters while walking none. Mikolas worked efficiently, too, throwing 70% of his 74 pitches for strikes.

“[Mikolas] really dominated the bottom of the zone,” Millas said. “It opened up a lot for him with his curveball and his changeup … really strong game plan.”

The line could have looked even cleaner if not for a weakly hit line drive that fell in for a double in the third inning, leading to a run.

After a 14-run explosion against the New York Mets last Wednesday, the Nationals offense has largely struggled, failing to exceed five runs in the past week and being held without a home run since Abrams’ game-winning home run last Thursday.

The team still ranks third in MLB in runs scored, but the rest of its offensive categories have fallen as of late, ranking 12th in OPS at .716, and 12th in home runs with 41.

These stats would seem to suggest the Nationals are producing runs at an unsustainable rate, but with a much-improved pitching staff as of late (barring Tuesday night’s collapse), the Nationals appear to be better positioned to weather offensive regression than they were earlier in the season.

“We know we’re a good group, and we know we can hit,” Millas said. “It’s just a matter of coming in with that same mindset every day and knowing we’re good enough to get it done.”

The Nationals will look to earn a series victory tomorrow when they take on the Twins at 1:05 with Jake Irvin taking the hill to square off with Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson. Woods Richardson has struggled so far this season, holding an 0-5 record with a 6.49 earned run average.