Washington turned an early advantage into a blowout at Chase Field on June 5, 2026, scoring 12 runs en route to a 12-1 victory over Arizona. Luis García Jr. supplied the day’s biggest moments, homering twice — a two-run shot in the first inning and a grand slam in the sixth — and several Nationals chipped in to carry the offense. Arizona’s lone run came on a home run by Aramis Garcia, his first long ball since April 30, 2022.
The scoring began almost immediately. In the top of the first, Luis García Jr. connected on a two-run home run off Merrill Kelly to put Washington on the board. That long ball, listed as García’s sixth of the season, provided an early boost and set the tone for a Nationals lineup that would not relent through the middle innings.
Washington’s attack continued in the third inning. James Wood supplied a solo homer — his 17th of the year — that extended the lead. The rally grew as Daylen Lile followed with an RBI single and then Jorbit Vivas plated two more with a run-scoring double, all against Merrill Kelly. Those three hits in the third inning pushed the Nationals’ advantage to 6-0 and put Arizona in a hole it would struggle to climb out of.
Arizona answered with its only run in the bottom of the third when Aramis Garcia deposited a ball into the seats off Nationals pitching. The homer marked Garcia’s first since April 30, 2022, a span of 1,497 days. Washington’s defense had earlier flashed urgency on the field, with Nasim Nuñez making a diving catch at second base in the bottom of the first and Ryan Waldschmidt laying out for another diving play in the second inning.
The Nationals kept adding to the total. In the top of the fifth, Daylen Lile launched a solo shot, his eighth of the season, that made it 7-1. Two innings later Washington produced the big blow of the afternoon: Luis García Jr. crushed a grand slam in the sixth inning off Philip Abner to push the score to 11-1. The seventh run driven in by García that day made him the first Nationals player to hit both a grand slam and a non-grand-slam home run in the same game since Matt Adams on June 16, 2019. CJ Abrams capped the scoring in the top of the sixth with a solo homer off Abner as well, listed as Abrams’ 13th, closing the scoring at 12-1.
Merrill Kelly, who took the ball for Arizona during the early portion of the game, was on the mound for several of those Washington rallies and recorded a strikeout of James Wood in the fourth inning. Philip Abner was the pitcher who surrendered the grand slam and the subsequent solo shot to CJ Abrams in the sixth. On the defensive side, Jorbit Vivas also contributed with a tough play at third base in the bottom of the fifth, helping limit further damage as Arizona tried to chip away.
A Washington player rounded the bases in celebration following one of the big homers, a scene that underscored how the lineup produced run after run for most of the afternoon. A Washington Nationals player rounds the bases in an on-field celebration during the June 5, 2026 game at Arizona.
Arizona, wearing its purple alternate uniforms during the contest at Chase Field, managed little else offensively beyond Aramis Garcia’s long ball. An Arizona Diamondbacks player in the club's purple alternate uniform during play at Chase Field on June 5, 2026.
By the time the final out was recorded, the Nationals had manufactured a 12-1 win built on power from multiple hitters and run-producing swings that came in clusters. Washington’s lineup featured multi-run contributions from García (two homers, including a grand slam), James Wood (solo homer), Daylen Lile (RBI single and a solo homer), Jorbit Vivas (two-run double and a defensive play at third) and CJ Abrams (solo homer). Arizona’s only scoring play came from Aramis Garcia’s long ball, a milestone homer that snapped a lengthy personal drought.
The boxscore reflected the breadth of Washington’s offensive day: García’s two homers were recorded as his sixth and seventh of the season; Wood’s homer was noted as his 17th; Daylen Lile’s solo shot was listed as his eighth; and CJ Abrams’ long ball was logged as his 13th. The game’s sequence of plays, defensive highlights and the late grand slam left Chase Field with a lopsided final line, 12-1 in favor of the Nationals.