Nationals play with their 'hair on fire' in record-breaking sweep

WASHINGTON -- Nearly two years had passed since the Nationals had swept a series. They last swept a three-game set June 14-16, 2021, versus the Pirates and a two-game series against the Blue Jays on Aug. 17-18, 2021.

A 6-1 win over the Giants on Sunday at Nationals Park snapped the longest skid in baseball history.

“To come out and win all three against a really good team, it’s very rewarding to these guys,” said manager Dave Martinez. “They played with their hair on fire this weekend, and it was a lot of fun.”

Led by a 3-for-4 performance by Lane Thomas that included a team-record-tying four stolen bases, a homer by Riley Adams and a scoreless outing by MacKenzie Gore, the Nationals took the three-game series in convincing fashion. They outscored San Francisco, 21-5, since Friday.

The Nats’ last sweep over the Giants had been Aug. 5-7, 2019, in the Bay Area, and their last sweep against the NL West opponent in Washington, D.C., was July 3-5, 2015.

“I was proud of the boys,” said Martinez. “You saw us go first-to-third, you saw us turn double plays when we needed to, make some good plays, steal some bases, get big outs -- everybody was on point.”

Thomas dazzled on Sunday with an all-around game that earned him a place in the Nationals record books (2005-present). The only two other players who have stolen four bases in a single game are Michael A. Taylor (June 17, 2018 at the Blue Jays) and Trea Turner (June 18, 2017 at the Mets and June 27, 2017 vs. the Cubs). The last player to steal four bases against the Giants was Everth Cabrera of the Padres on Sept. 30, 2012.

“I think that’s a cool stat,” said Thomas, whose previous career high in a game was one stolen base. “Candy [Jeimer Candelario] is a really good hitter, and they were more worried about him than me. It gives you an opportunity to be aggressive and get a bag, and maybe give him a chance to drive a run in, so it was good.”

Among his defensive highlights was a nine-three double play to end the eighth inning wherein Thomas nabbed a deep fly ball hit by Patrick Bailey and threw out Wilmer Flores at first base.

“I told him today, ‘You’re a five-tool player, you did it all so good for you, outstanding,’” said Martinez. “He was all-in. He’s been that way all year, really. He’s played really hard all year for us.”

Backup catcher Adams continued to make the most of his playing time. He singled and then went yard for the fourth time in 24 games played. Adams is batting .438 in his last four contests.

“Riley’s great,” said Gore. “He’s done such a good job of when he plays doing a really good job of everything. He’s a great teammate, so it’s always good to see guys like that be successful and he did it again today.”

The Giants’ offense, meanwhile, was quieted by the southpaw Gore. He bounced back from a five-run appearance against the Cubs on July 17 to throw his fourth scoreless start of the season. Gore gave up four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts across 90 pitches.

“You can’t say enough about the group of guys in here,” said Gore. “This series was great. We’ve been playing hard and doing things the right way. We finally got some results this series where we won all three. But all the credit goes to these guys in here. They’ve been doing it the right way, and it was fun to just be a part of it.”

The sweep was an encouraging sign of their play at Nationals Park. The Nats are 18-32 at home compared to 23-26 on the road. But they won the previous home series against the Rangers before the All-Star break, and they took back-to-back home series for the first time since June 14-20, 2021 (against the Pirates and Mets).

“It’s awesome,” said Martinez. “I always talk about our fans being the 27th man, so it’s nice to come home and win games for them and see the energy that they’re bringing. I think the boys are starting to realize they’re behind us, they want us to go out there and compete and win games, they stuck with us. So it’s a lot of fun to come home and win.”