Nationals 6, Angels 5: Alvarez's One-Hitter, Then Extra Innings

Seven one-hit innings, and the bullpen still needed a 10th

September 12, 2026 - Washington - Andrew Alvarez threw seven innings of one-hit ball, and the Washington Nationals still needed extra innings to beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5. CJ Abrams scored in the 10th when Zach Neto could not handle Harry Ford's grounder with the infield in. The Associated Press recap called it another bullpen collapse and Washington's 39th blown save, an MLB record that keeps growing.

Overcast, 79 degrees, wind 7 mph right to left. First pitch 4:06 p.m. Attendance 25,713. The game lasted 2 hours, 56 minutes. Alvarez was finished after the seventh with a 4-0 lead. The last three innings were a different game.

The Nationals are 69-81. The Angels are 56-92 and 4-14 in extra-inning games this season, the AP recap said.

Ortiz in the second, Alvarez until the bullpen

Walbert Ureña lasted six innings, nine hits, four runs, two walks, seven strikeouts, 101 pitches. Washington scored in the first on Abrams' double, Abimelec Ortiz coming home. 1-0. The second finished the early argument. Keibert Ruiz scored on Jacob Young's single after a tag-play challenge went Washington's way. Ortiz then singled Young and James Wood home. 4-0.

Alvarez made that lead look like a complete game. He struck out a career-best eight, the AP recap said, including Mike Trout twice. He walked four. Jose Siri's double inside the left-field line in the sixth was the Angels' only hit against him. He threw 61 of 97 pitches for strikes in his 20th start, his longest in the majors, and retired 13 of the last 14 batters he faced. The AP recap noted he had carried a no-hitter into the fifth of his big-league debut on September 1, 2025, against Miami. Saturday was the grown-up version: traffic, strikeouts, and no earned runs.

Wood stole two bases. Ruiz went 3-for-4 with a double. Ortiz went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, and two RBI. Dylan Crews went 0-for-5. The Nationals had the game they wanted through seven.

Grissom in the eighth, then a 5-4 that did not hold

Brad Lord took the eighth. Trout walked. Wade Meckler doubled him home. Vaughn Grissom then hit a two-run homer to left, his 11th. 4-3. Blake Weiman had thrown two scoreless before Lord. The lead was one.

Will Dion could not finish the ninth. Oswald Peraza scored on Denzer Guzman's double. Moisés Ballesteros lifted a sacrifice fly, Guzman scoring. 5-4 Angels. Dion's blown save was the 39th of the year for Washington, the AP recap said. Ben Joyce could not keep the 5-4. José Tena reached and stole. Andrés Chaparro singled him home. 5-5.

Jack Sinclair (1-0) retired four batters for his first career win, the AP recap said. The 10th started with the extra-inning runner and a Trout walk. Sinclair got a force at second, struck out Grissom as Meckler stole, and grounded Christian Moore to third. José Fermin (4-3) intentionally walked Daylen Lile. Abrams had already stolen third. Ford then bounced to short. Neto, infield in, did not handle it. Abrams scored. 6-5.

That is a walk-off on an error, and it is still a win. Los Angeles had four hits all afternoon. Three of them came after Alvarez left.

Four Angel hits, and extras that keep going the wrong way

Grissom's homer was the loudest swing Los Angeles had. Meckler doubled and drove in a run. Guzman doubled and drove in a run. Siri doubled off Alvarez and never scored. Trout walked twice and struck out twice. Neto went 0-for-5 with the error that ended it. Kyren Paris never found a hit. The Angels left seven on and went to extras with four hits on the board.

Ureña deserved a better night than a no-decision that turned into a loss for the bullpen. Joyce took a blown save. Fermin took the loss on a third of an inning, a walk, and an error behind him. That is extra-inning baseball when you have four hits and the other club will not stop running.

Sunday is Grayson Rodriguez (4-7, 6.28) against Jake Irvin (2-9, 5.52). Washington has won two straight and still sits 19 and a half out in the NL East. The Angels have lost two straight and sit 18 and a half out in the AL West. Alvarez's seven innings were the best pitching line on the slate. The box score still needed a 10th inning and a shortstop error to make them count.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Alvarez at 26 pitching fantasy points, the top pitcher total on a 15-game Saturday. Ortiz checked in at 7 hitting FP. Abrams had 6. Ruiz had 5. Washington finished with 10 team FP. Los Angeles finished at 3.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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