Nationals 13, Rockies 3: Lile's Five RBI and Cavalli End a Skid

Four quiet innings, then Washington emptied the tank

August 24, 2026 - Washington - The Washington Nationals did not touch Ryan Feltner for four innings. Then the fifth turned into a mess Colorado could not clean up.

Nasim Nuñez laid down a sacrifice bunt that Willi Castro threw down the right-field line. Two runs scored. CJ Abrams doubled home Nuñez for a 3-2 lead, stole third, and scored on Abimelec Ortiz's grounder. Daylen Lile and Brady House doubled back-to-back. Five runs. The night stopped being a pitcher's duel.

Final: Nationals 13, Colorado Rockies 3. Washington snapped a three-game skid and a stretch of seven losses in eight. Colorado dropped a season-worst seventh straight.

Cavalli kept the early lead from becoming a chase

Cade Cavalli (12-5) worked six innings, two runs, seven strikeouts. Castro ripped the first pitch of the fourth off the foul pole in right for his 15th homer. Ezequiel Tovar led off the fifth with a shot to center, his 10th. That was Colorado's offense for the night.

Cavalli has started Washington's last three wins. He is 7-1 with a 1.98 ERA in eight outings since the All-Star break. Abrams, back as the DH after missing four games with a sprained ankle, went 1-for-4 with two steals and the go-ahead RBI.

Feltner (5-8) lasted 5 2/3 and was charged with seven runs, five earned. Tovar left in the sixth with a strained left wrist after trying to glove Jacob Young's single an inning earlier. The Rockies already had enough problems without losing their shortstop mid-blowout.

Lile's eighth finished what the fifth started

Washington added three in the sixth and two in the seventh. Lile's three-run homer in the eighth made it a 13-3 night and locked his five-RBI line. That is how a club that had been quiet for a week suddenly owns the slate's team board.

Colorado's seventh straight loss came with one more injury footnote and another night where early contact did not turn into a real threat once Washington's middle innings opened up.

AthX Engine graded the rout, then Lile

AthX Engine put Washington at 26 team fantasy points, clear of every other club Monday. Lile led Nationals bats at 16 hitting fantasy points. Cavalli scored 15 pitching fantasy points. Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what the market will pay next.

What's next

Andrew Alvarez starts Tuesday for Washington. Colorado had not named a replacement after Kyle Freeland hit the 15-day injured list Monday. One 13-3 does not rewrite August for either club, but nights like this are why AthX Engine keeps Lile and Cavalli pages open after a bad week.

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*Sources: ESPN recap, ESPN box score, MLB schedule, AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*