Nationals Ride Early Power, Strong Pitching to Defeat Guardians 6-3.

CLEVELAND — The Washington Nationals continued their hot streak Tuesday night, using an explosive second inning and another big performance from James Wood to secure a 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians. Wood delivered the game’s defining moment early, crushing a two-run homer to right field in the second inning. The 401-foot blast marked his 15th home run of the season and gave Washington a commanding four-run cushion. The young outfielder has now homered in consecutive games against Cleveland and continues to rank among baseball’s most productive hitters with 49 runs scored and 29 extra-base hits.

The Nationals backed Wood’s power surge with strong pitching from Cade Cavalli, who worked six solid innings. Cavalli struck out seven batters while allowing just one run on five hits to improve to 3-3 on the season. Mitchell Parker closed out the final three innings for his first save, though Cleveland made things interesting late with a two-run single from rookie Travis Bazzana in the ninth. Washington grabbed control in the second inning when Keibert Ruiz lined a two-run single that brought home Daylen Lile and Jacob Young. Moments later, Wood followed with his towering homer to extend the lead to 4-0. Cleveland struggled to recover after the rough start from Joey Cantillo. The Guardians starter lasted only two innings, surrendering four runs while battling command issues that included four walks and two wild pitches. Cantillo fell to 4-2 after allowing eight baserunners in his shortest outing of the year.

The Guardians finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning when José Ramírez lifted a sacrifice fly that plated Steven Kwan. However, Washington answered again in the ninth as Andrés Chaparro delivered a two-run single to score Nasim Nunez and Wood, pushing the lead to 6-1. One of Cleveland’s defensive highlights came in the fourth inning when center fielder Daniel Schneemann robbed Curtis Mead of a potential two-run homer with a leaping catch at the wall. The victory was Washington’s fourth straight and improved the club to 29-27 overall, matching its best mark of the season while moving two games above .500. The Nationals have also dominated the series offensively, outscoring Cleveland 16-5 through the first two games. The series concludes Wednesday with Washington expected to send Miles Mikolas to the mound against Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams.