Rookie Joey Meneses hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the visiting Washington Nationals snapped their six-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
Keibert Ruiz recorded his first two-homer game and had four RBIs for the Nationals, who won for just the third time in 13 games and also ended a six-game road skid.
After Chicago pounded out seven singles and four runs in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead, Meneses, in his sixth major league game and with a man on, gulfed a breaking ball from Mark Leiter Jr. (2-5) into the left-field basket for his third career homer.
Recently acquired infielder Zach McKinstry and Seiya Suzuki each had three hits for Chicago, which has dropped two of three at home after winning five straight there. Suzuki also hit his ninth homer of the campaign.
Down 4-1, Chicago’s first four batters in the seventh recorded singles off Washington’s Erasmo Ramirez and Kyle Finnegan (3-2), with RBIs from Rafael Ortega and Willson Contreras. After Nationals center fielder Lane Thomas threw out Ortega at the plate on Ian Happ’s lineout, Franmil Reyes dropped a run-scoring single into right field to tie the game in his Cubs’ debut, and Nico Hoerner (two hits) gave Chicago its first lead with his own RBI single.
Ruiz put the Nationals ahead 1-0 with his one-out homer into the right-field seats in the second off Marcus Stroman. However, Suzuki tied it in the bottom of the frame with his drive about halfway up into the left-field bleachers for the only run allowed by Washington starter Paolo Espino, who yielded five other hits and struck out five without a walk through five innings.
After back-to-back singles from Yadiel Hernandez (two hits) and Maneses with one out in the fourth, Ruiz lined a Stroman pitch just over the basket in right field for a three-run Washington lead. It was his sixth blast of the season.
All four runs against Stroman over five innings were earned. The right-hander also allowed five hits and two walks while fanning six to remain winless in six home starts this year.
Ex-Cub Carl Edwards Jr. recorded his first save since 2020. Meanwhile, teammate Nelson Cruz left in the fifth inning for an undisclosed reason.
–Field Level Media