Nationals 7, Cubs 0: Cavalli Takes a No-Hitter Into the Seventh

August 13, 2026 - Washington - Cade Cavalli retired the first 15 Chicago Cubs he faced. He still had a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh when Michael Busch blooped one into shallow left. The Washington Nationals Park crowd stood up anyway. Cavalli finished eight innings, one hit, 10 strikeouts, and a 7-0 win that kept Chicago from sweeping the series.

Clayton Beeter threw a perfect ninth. Combined one-hitter. Kevin Gausman was gone after 4 2/3, six earned, the loss that dropped him to 6-11.

Fifteen up, fifteen down, then a walk

Cavalli's only real mess before the seventh was a four-pitch walk to Dansby Swanson to start the sixth. Michael Conforto bounced into a double play. Still the minimum. Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out to open the seventh. Seiya Suzuki flied to right. Busch, two strikes, dumped one the other way. That was Chicago's hit. That was Chicago's day.

Cavalli came back for the eighth, a day before his 28th birthday, and walked Swanson again with two outs. He froze Conforto looking on pitch 103, pumped a fist, and walked off. Career highs in innings and pitches. He is 10-5. Over his last nine starts he is 6-1 with a 2.36 ERA. Manager Blake Butera said afterward that if the no-hitter had held, Cavalli would have been allowed to finish it. Washington's last no-hitter was Max Scherzer, twice, in 2015.

Ortiz's fifth, and a 6-0 hole Gausman could not climb

The Nationals did not wait on the no-hit drama to score. Abimelec Ortiz reached in the fourth. Dylan Crews doubled him home. 1-0.

The fifth was the game. Jorbit Vivas scored on Andrew Pinckney's sacrifice fly. Ortiz then hit a three-run homer to center (414 feet) that scored Andrés Chaparro and CJ Abrams. 5-0. Daylen Lile singled in Crews. 6-0. Gausman was done: 4 2/3 innings, seven hits, six earned, seven strikeouts, one walk.

Vivas singled home Lile in the eighth with Brady House on. 7-0. Ten hits, no errors, and a club that entered 60-63 after two losses to a Cubs team sitting 71-51.

Avoiding the sweep

Chicago still left town with the series. Washington left with the one game that stops a slide from becoming a story. Cavalli's Opening Day start at Wrigley this year lasted 3 2/3 innings. Thursday was the other end of that season: eight innings, one hit, a packed house clapping for a no-hitter that did not quite happen.

The Cubs are still well clear in the NL Central math. The Nationals are still hunting for a week that looks like this one more than once.

AthX Engine angle

The Nationals finished with 17 AthX Engine team fantasy points. Cavalli had 35 pitching fantasy points, tied with Braxton Ashcraft for the Thursday lead. Ortiz had 9 hitting fantasy points. The Cubs finished at -8 team fantasy points.

Track Cavalli, Ortiz, and the Nationals on the marketplace. AthX Engine grades the night. Price is what the market pays tomorrow.

*Sources: MLB.com gameday wrap, MLB.com on Cavalli, ESPN box score, AP recap, AthX Engine daily scoring for August 13, 2026. Information only; not financial advice.*