DENVER — As a rule of thumb, the Washington Nationals pregame hitting meetings rarely last more than 10 to 15 minutes. On Friday night, before a 11-5 dispatching of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, a full 26 minutes passed before players spilled out of the meeting. Most exited wearing a smile, as if Manager Dave Martinez let them in on a secret.
Those grins never really went away. The Nationals tallied a season-high 19 hits, Luis García Jr. and Drew Millas homered, while Millas, CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas and Jacob Young had three-hit games. Thomas finished a home run shy of the cycle.
“We talked a lot about ‘know thyself,’ right?” Martinez said. “Know who you are. Know what pitches you want to attack. Stay on the fastball. So we did well today.”
All this improbably followed Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in which the Nationals saw just 87 pitches behind a slew of weak contact and early outs. The execution of Martinez’s message, buoyed by the thin air at Coors Field, Abrams’s return to the lineup following a two-game absence and facing the worst pitching staff in the majors seemed to do the trick.
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It began with a five-run third inning. Rockies righty Dakota Hudson fed Young a sinker right down the middle, and he slapped it the other way for a double. Then Thomas got a first-pitch sinker and ripped it past shortstop Ezequiel Tovar for the Nationals’ first run.
“If he threw anything middle of the plate, I thought some guys did what they’re supposed to do,” Thomas said. “It’s awesome. I think it starts the road trip off right and hopefully we can keep doing it the rest of the way.”
Jesse Winker worked an eight-pitch at-bat before a delivery in his zone of interest — thigh-high and outside — led to a 406-foot fly out. No matter. Eddie Rosario, who has dined on change-ups for two seasons, smacked a first-pitch change-up for a double to score Thomas. Joey Meneses worked a seven-pitch walk. García then swung violently at a low breaking ball.
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Not many louder sounds have come off a Nationals’ bat this season. Garcia sent it screaming into the right-field stands and saluted Rosario at home plate before sporting the team’s new home-run celebration accessory — a red-white-and-blue Uncle Sam — or, Uncle Slam to some — hat.
“We’re a good fastball hitting team,” García said through a team interpreter. “They were attacking a lot with the fastball. We were being selective and aggressive with those pitches. Things worked out today for us.”
Millas added a 428-foot first-pitch solo shot, his first homer this season, on another sinker down the middle to start the next inning. Back-to-back singles from Young and Abrams, followed by Thomas’s double, brought two more Nationals home before Rosario’s sacrifice fly scored Thomas for a 9-1 lead in the fourth.
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The Nationals (37-38) were rolling, but rookie starter DJ Herz then was given the full Coors Field treatment by the Rockies (26-50). Colorado knocked the left-hander out after 3⅔ innings behind solo shots from Tovar and Nolan Jones and a two-run blast by Hunter Goodman. In the fifth, Derek Law conceded a sacrifice fly that cut Washington’s lead to 9-5. In another world, in another park, and on another day, maybe that’s enough to scratch by the Nationals, who were previously 5-25 when allowing at least five runs.
“I’m happy about the amount of strikes and walks again ... but I think there was room to get better,” Herz said, referencing some inconsistency in his lower-half mechanics. “I made my own mistakes, but the guys had my back.”
But back-to-back opposite-field doubles by Young (on a blooper) and Abrams (on an opposite-field rocket) in the sixth, followed by Thomas’s triple, put the Nationals up six to account for the final margin. Thomas had two final at-bats with a chance to homer for the cycle, and admitted he was looking to go yard given the cushion.
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“I definitely was thinking about hitting that homer,” Thomas joked. “I shouldn’t do that anymore.”
Notes: After missing two games because of a cyst on his lower left palm, Abrams returned to the lineup and went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a walk while hitting out of the leadoff spot. Though Abrams said he didn’t know what caused the cyst and still had it taped up before the game, he said the pain “isn’t too bad” and was more than comfortable enough to play through it. Martinez’s only warning for the shortstop was to be careful when sliding. ...
Lefty reliever Jose A. Ferrer threw his first live batting practice since straining his right teres major muscle in spring training. Martinez said he threw the ball “really well,” and was between 96 to 99 mph on his fastball. ...
Right-hander Josiah Gray’s next rehab start with Class AAA Rochester is set for Tuesday, as he is slated for six innings and 85 to 90 pitches. Martinez had previously said Gray would have to reach 90 pitches before being activated. ...
Right-hander Cade Cavalli threw three hitless innings with Class A Wilmington, allowing just one walk while striking out three on 35 pitches (25 strikes). It was his first rehab start since May 30 as he works his way back from his March 2023 Tommy John surgery. ...
Right-hander Trevor Williams (right flexor muscle strain) is still not throwing, though there is no discomfort.
