WASHINGTON – Luis García Jr. went three-shy for the cycle in his second straight three-hit game, Kyle Finnegan got a four-out save in his first start since blowing a four-run lead and the Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-6. 4 on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak.
Travis Blankenhorn hit a two-run double on a ball that dropped defenseman Jackson Chourio behind him at the base of the wall during a two-out rally as Washington took a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
“We put the ball in the zone, we lift the ball, we put aggressive hits on it and good things happen,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. Luis García is very focused on trying to get the ball into the zone. He had a good day. Blankenhorn was a huge success for us. They played well.”
Aaron Civale (2-8) has allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings, falling to 0-2 in five starts since Milwaukee acquired him from Tampa Bay on June 3.
“Obviously, he’s been a very successful major league pitcher,” Brewers manager Patrick Murphy said. “He’s not having his best year, but he’s still figuring himself out and how he wants to attack people and how he wants his arsenal to work. That two-seam fastball sinker hasn’t really been there for him and the cutter has been inconsistent.
DJ Herz (2-4) got his second big league win, the first for the 23-year-old rookie left-hander, after going 0-3 in a six-game winless streak since defeating Miami on June 15. one unearned run and two hits in five innings with six strikeouts and one walk.
“I feel like when they scored the three runs it lit me up and kept me going and we went from there,” Herz said. “I feel like (my fastball) has always been my best pitch and it’s the pitch I attack with and when the fastball is in action it’s going to be a good day.
Finnegan hasn’t pitched since allowing five runs in a 9-8 loss at Arizona on Monday. He replaced Joan Adon with a 6-1 lead with two innings and two outs in the eighth.
Finnegan threw a wild pitch and allowed Gary Sánchez’s RBI single before retiring Rhys Hoskins on a flyout. Then in the ninth, Finnegan gave up Brice Turang’s two-out single before inducing Chourio into a game-ending hit for his career-high 29th save in 33 chances. Finnegan made 28 saves last year.
Rhys Hoskins hit his 19th home run for Milwaukee, a solo hit off Derek Law in the seventh inning. Hoskins hit 25 of his 167 home runs against the Nationals.
García’s double over Hoskins at first base and down the right field line sparked the opening rally against Civale, who needed 34 pitches to get his first three outs. Keibert Ruiz hit a go-ahead single and Alex Call capped the rally with an RBI single, the first of his three hits.
García scored the third, his 12th this season. He has 11 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs in his last 21 games and is batting .397 since July 3. Exactly one year earlier, García was demoted to Triple-A Rochester for what turned out to be five weeks.
“I learned a lot,” Garcia said through a translator. “It’s something that probably had to be done. It was a lesson that needed to be taught to me. I think now that I’m here I’ve learned a lot from it and I’m moving forward.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: Murphy said LHP Bryan Hudson (left oblique) will pitch multiple innings as his rehab period continues with Triple-A Nashville. … RHP JB Bukauskas (right lat) remains in Nashville but is not close to returning. “You need to give them a few days there to acclimate and try different things back to back,” Murphy said.
Nationals: RHP Josiah Gary is beginning his rehab from Tommy John surgery with an internal brace on July 25. “Every day has been positive,” Gray said. obviously daily goals, just building up those days.”
NEXT
Brewers RHP Tobias Myers (6-4, 3.10 ERA) starts Sunday’s series finale against Nationals LHP Mitchell Parker (5-6, 4.31).
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