Nationals lean on pitching staff to stump Cubs

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Field Level Media
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May 2, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Trevor Williams (32) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Nationals Park.
May 2, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Trevor Williams (32) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Nationals Park.
Image: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Williams pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings and the Washington Nationals' bullpen did its job in a 4-1 victory against the visiting Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night

CJ Abrams went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs as the Nationals won for the second time in their last six games and evened the four-game series with the Cubs at one game apiece

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The Nationals racked up three seventh-inning runs, two coming on Alex Call's double

Patrick Wisdom homered for Chicago's lone run.

But the game was dictated by Washington's pitching. Hunter Harvey (1-0) was the winning pitcher with 1 1/3 shutout innings. Kyle Finnegan worked around a hit in the ninth to earn his sixth save as five Nationals pitchers combined to surrender eight hits

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Williams allowed only four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

The Nationals scored first on Luis Garcia's one-out single in the third inning

The Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but Carl Edwards Jr. worked out of the jam by striking out pinch hitter Trey Mancini before getting Eric Hosmer to pop out

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Wisdom's 11th homer of the season tied the game at 1-1 leading off the seventh.

Abrams put the Nationals back ahead in the seventh before Call's big hit. That three-run outburst was a big deal for Washington, which didn't score that many runs in two of its last three games

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Victor Robles added two hits for Washington.

Chicago starter Hayden Wesneski worked six innings, giving up one run. Keegan Thompson (1-2) was charged with three runs on four hits in one-third of an inning to take the loss.

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Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger and Hosmer all had two hits for the Cubs, who have lost four of their last five games

Washington batters struck out only three times, marking a season low.

--Field Level Media