WASHINGTON -- The Nationals' series opener against the Tigers unfolded in two scenes on Friday night at Nationals Park.

Scene One saw right-hander Jake Irvin exit after allowing six runs (four earned) in 2 2/3 innings while his teammates were no-hit by southpaw Matthew Boyd through five frames.

Scene Two featured a six-run rally that put the Nats in contention for a comeback while their bullpen cooled the Tigers’ homer-hitting bats.

The curtain closed on opening night of the Interleague series with an 8-6 loss for the Nationals.

“I just think you can’t count us out of any games,” said right fielder Lane Thomas. “They were up 8-0 and we came within a couple runs.”

Scene One
Irvin took the mound for his fourth Major League start looking to bounce back from his previous six-run outing against the Mets and get back to the effectiveness he displayed in his standout first two appearances. The outcome, however, was a rocky, abbreviated evening.

Irvin allowed two home runs to the Tigers, who rank second to last in the AL in the category, including a leadoff dinger to third baseman Zach McKinstry. His pitch count reached 75 before his early exit.

“Coming off a series sweep [against the Marlins in Miami], all I wanted to do today was put something strong together, get deep into the ballgame and give us some momentum for this series,” said Irvin, ranked as the Nationals’ No. 19 prospect. “So it’s really disappointing.”

Irvin’s final inning was extended when second baseman Luis García committed his first error of the season -- a throwing miscue that missed a double play opportunity that could have ended the frame.

“I talk about it all the time: Hitting comes and goes, we’ve got to catch the baseball,” said manager Dave Martinez. “We can’t make those errors, and it was costly today.”

Irvin walked designated hitter Nick Maton, and then he allowed a three-run home run to left fielder Akil Baddoo.

“It’s up to me to make good pitches, and I didn’t,” said Irvin. “Simple as that.”

Through the first two starts of his big league career, Irvin -- who debuted on May 3 -- allowed just one run in 10 2/3 innings. Since then, he has surrendered 12 runs (10 earned) across 7 1/3 frames.

“There definitely is [a learning curve]; it’s the highest level of baseball,” said Irvin. “I think the biggest thing is learning from your mistakes, but also being able to learn in-game and making adjustments quickly. So I definitely have to be better with that.”

Scene Two
Thomas looked up at the scoreboard. He saw a zero and called out to his teammates around him in the dugout.

“I just started screaming, ‘He’s throwing a no-hitter!’” said Thomas.

The Nationals snapped Boyd’s no-hit bid in the bottom of the sixth with a Keibert Ruiz leadoff double into right-center field. He snapped a four-game hitless streak with a 2-for-3 performance.

“The last couple days weren’t great days for me,” said Ruiz. “I was just trying to put the ball in play and get a good pitch to hit. I was trying not to do too much, just hit a fastball through the middle.” 

The offense was sparked from there. Shortstop CJ Abrams drove in Ruiz with a line-drive RBI double into right field, and Thomas belted his sixth home run of the month (and season) in the following at-bat. Thomas has a .620 slugging percentage in May compared to .264 in April.

“I feel like I’m just trying to be a little more consistent this year,” said Thomas. “… I feel like I was just kind of streaky. I’d get a few hits one series last year and [then] get no hits. I’m just trying to be more consistent with approach, at-bats and late in-game, so hopefully that’s paying off a little bit and I can keep doing it.”

The following inning, Ruiz kept his momentum going by homering to cut the deficit to two runs. The Nationals’ comeback eventually fell short after recording seven hits following the Tigers’ no-hit bid.

“We never give up,” said Ruiz. “It doesn’t matter how the game is, if they’re winning or we’re winning. We’ve just got to keep competing every inning.”