Abrams and Crews hit back-to-back homers, Nationals beat Athletics 5-2

CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews turned a tight game into Washington’s latest sign of progress, hitting back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to lift the Nationals past the Athletics 5-2 at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California.

The win went to Foster Griffin, who improved to 11-2 after allowing one run over seven innings. He struck out two and produced 12 ground-ball outs, giving Washington the kind of steady start that let the offense play from ahead after the fifth-inning burst.

Abrams and Crews provided the part of the roster the Nationals have been trying to build around. Abrams has already reached a career-high 21 home runs, and Crews has been part of a growing power look that Washington has sought from its young core. Their homers came in sequence, a quick two-swing swing that changed the tone of the afternoon and stretched a close contest into a two-run Nationals lead.

The performance mattered beyond one game because it fit the shape of Washington’s recent stretch. The Nationals had already buried the Athletics 23-4 on July 17, then finished the set with another win to take the series. Earlier in the season, Abrams and Crews also connected in the same game during a 4-3 win over the Rays on June 20, another small but relevant marker for a lineup trying to prove its young hitters can create damage together.

For Washington, the larger test is whether those flashes become routine. Abrams brings speed and athleticism at the top of the lineup, while Crews has the power profile the Nationals have been trying to add to a rebuild that still depends on internal growth. The back-to-back shots did not answer every question, but they did show how quickly that core can change a game when both bats are aligned.