Nats can't finish the job after rallying to tie Jays (updated)

TORONTO – A Nationals lineup that had been having a devil of a time scoring runs since arriving north of the border finally found a way to scratch out a few clutch hits, turning a sleepy game at Rogers Centre into a tight contest late.

Now it was up to a beleaguered Nats bullpen to keep this game against the Blue Jays tied and give that lineup another shot at plating the go-ahead run.

That proved too much to ask on this Tuesday night in Toronto. Jose A. Ferrer, tasked with completing two innings of relief, gave up a two-out, two-run single to Bo Bichette in the bottom of the eighth, the decisive runs in a disheartening 5-3 loss.

"At the end of the day, it is a game of inches," Trevor Williams said. "We executed what we could. The guys were laying it all out on the line behind me. On defense, we had a lot of diving plays, a lot of really close plays where guys were leaving their feet. You chalk it up to one of those games where they beat us by inches today."

The Nationals fell to 1-4 on the young season and for the second time in a week will need to win a series finale to avoid a three-game sweep. They did it Sunday against the Phillies behind Mitchell Parker. They’ll ask MacKenzie Gore to lead the way Wednesday afternoon.

"They seemed to find the hits," manager Davey Martinez said. "We couldn't."

After getting clutch hits from Keibert Ruiz and CJ Abrams to erase a 3-0 deficit, the Nationals found themselves in a battle of bullpens tonight, with the visitors needing to get four innings out of their top three arms.

Jorge López came through with a scoreless sixth, and Ferrer posted a zero in the seventh on 16 pitches. Needing more out of his young lefty, Martinez sent Ferrer back to the mound for the eighth and watched as he did himself in with a defensive gaffe.

Ferrer allowed a leadoff single to George Springer, then fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt from Will Wagner. He turned to throw to first to get the easy out, only to have the ball fall out of his glove while he made the transition. Everyone was safe, and now Ferrer was in a real jam.

"I just got a little too early there," Ferrer said, via interpeter Kenny Diaz. "I was looking, obviously, at the runner before fielding the ball."

Another sacrifice put runners on second and third, and though Ferrer struck out pinch-hitter Davis Schneider and got ahead of Bichette with an 0-2 count, he couldn’t finish the deal. Bichette poked that final pitch inside the first base line, past a diving Nathaniel Lowe, driving in both runs and spoiling the night for the Nationals.

"They didn't hit the ball really hard," Martinez said. "They just found hits. But coming in, we knew they put the ball in play. They hit the ball all over the field. They showed they can do that today."

Williams took the mound tonight with visions of repeating his 2024 performance (minus the lengthy trip to the injured list, of course) by deploying the same approach that served him well last year: Keep everything down in the zone and make guys hit the ball on the ground. He did just that in his 2025 debut, yet the Blue Jays found a way to get some run production out of it.

Williams allowed 10 hits over his five innings, every one of them a single, three of them never leaving the infield. The contact wasn’t loud, but it was effective enough, especially during a three-run bottom of the second that must have felt like water torture to the exasperated veteran right-hander.

"It felt like every ball in play today was just out of reach for our guys," he said. "But when we get the ball on the ground and guys are making plays behind us, that's a recipe for success. It's just unfortunate tonight it didn't work out our way."

To his credit, Williams limited the damage to those three runs. He recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to get out of the second with two runners stranded. And then never allowed another Toronto runner to reach scoring position.

In the process, Williams extended a streak most won’t have realized has taken place: He has now allowed three or fewer runs in 16 consecutive starts, one shy of the club record established in 2019 by Max Scherzer (who watched this game from the Blue Jays dugout, unsure himself when he’ll be able to return from a thumb injury).

"I thought I did a really good job of mixing it up," Williams said. "Keibert and I were on the same page all night."

The Nationals provided zero run support while Williams was in the game, unable to mount any kind of sustained attack against José Berríos, who struck out four of the first five batters he faced and eight total over his 5 2/3 innings. But they finally got the clutch hit they had been seeking from the man who has been their best hitter to date this young season.

Ruiz entered the evening with a four-game hit streak. He departed with a five-game hit streak, delivering a two-out, two-run single to right off Berríos to finally break the ice. A Nats lineup that had been 4-for-36 with runners in scoring position for the season to that point was back in business.

And they weren’t done. They scored the tying run in the seventh, thanks to a pair of doubles, one by a bench player and one by a reigning All-Star.

Alex Call, making his season debut in right while slumping Dylan Crews (0-for-15) sat, walked in his first plate appearance, singled in his second and then doubled down the right field line to jumpstart the seventh-inning rally.

Two batters later, Abrams (who had already doubled and singled and made one of the best defensive plays of his career) lined a two-out, game-tying double off lefty Mason Fluharty (making his major league debut).

"Everything was moving away; he had a cutter and a slider," said Abrams, who didn't have much prior knowledge of Fluharty. "I was just trying to bring them in. Got a good slider to hit, and I put it down the line."

Now it was up to the Nationals lineup to find a way to scratch across at least one more run. And to their bullpen to piece together the final innings of this game and emerge victorious.

In the end, they didn't quite do enough when it mattered most.

"The little things matter," Abrams said. "This is a game of inches."

"A game of centimeters," Williams pointed out, "here in Toronto."