Nationals rally in ninth to stun Giants 4-3

The Nationals spent eight innings chasing Logan Webb and still walked away with a win that said as much about nerve as it did about contact. Washington beat San Francisco 4-3 at Oracle Park by scoring three times in the ninth, with CJ Abrams tying the game and Daylen Lile following with the go-ahead RBI single.

Webb was sharp for most of the night. He worked 8.0 innings, allowed one earned run on five hits and struck out seven, and the Giants carried a 3-1 lead into the ninth after Matt Chapman, Bryce Eldridge and Jonah Cox each drove in runs. Washington had been held to one run through eight innings before the final push changed everything.

The rally turned on the kind of pressure inning young hitters have to learn to survive. Keaton Winn, pitching for the third straight day, gave up a one-out double to Luis García Jr. and hit Curtis Mead with a pitch, putting the tying runs on base. Abrams then singled home the tying run, and Lile followed with the go-ahead hit. Abrams said his approach with two runners in scoring position was, "Just trying to stay stubborn."

Abrams finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run, and he was named the player of the game. Gus Varland earned the save after handling the final outs, and the Nationals improved to 34-33 while the Giants fell to 27-40. Washington’s first win after trailing at the end of eight innings came in 2 hours, 31 minutes before an announced crowd of 35,432, another late test passed by a club trying to make ninth-inning poise part of its identity.