WASHINGTON — The Angels’ frustrating stay in the nation’s capital ended the same way its first two games did: With a one-run loss.
The Washington Nationals scored four runs in the eighth inning to surge past the Angels 6-5 before an announced crowd of 20,761 at Nationals Park.
Moisés Ballesteros and Zach Neto homered as the Angels capped a 3-6 road trip that began with series in Pittsburgh and Boston. But it ended with the franchise’s first-ever sweep at the hands of the Nationals in 12 all-time series.
Luke Murphy (0-3), who recorded the final two outs of the seventh, returned to the mound with a 4-2 advantage. But after Yohandy Morales’ leadoff single, Daylen Lile lined one off the fence in right-center that caromed oddly and wound up a triple.
After Keibert Ruiz’s grounder to a drawn-in infield, pinch hitter Jorbit Vivas singled in Lile to tie it. Jacob Young followed with a go-ahead double, and Dylan Crews’ RBI single off Sammy Peralta completed the four-run rally.
A day after earning his first major league win, Washington’s Jack Sinclair allowed Josh Lowe’s leadoff double and Christian Moore’s RBI grounder but struck out Neto to earn his first career save.
The Angels had reclaimed the lead in the top of the eighth without the benefit of a hit. After Neto’s leadoff walk ended bulk reliever Jake Irvin’s outing after five-plus innings, the Erik Tolman (1-1) loaded the bases when Wade Meckler walked and Washington shortstop CJ Abrams booted Vaughn Grissom’s sharp grounder.
Tolman’s wild pitch allowed Neto to score to make it 3-2, and Ballesteros lofted a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Meckler.
Ballesteros put the Angels up in the fourth when he jumped on Irvin’s first-pitch curveball and sent it 407 feet into the red seats in center. It was his ninth homer of the season and third in 34 games since the Angels acquired him from the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline.
An inning later, Neto sent an Irvin sinker into the picnic tables just beyond the same section Ballesteros’ blast landed, a 440-foot blast to make it 2-0. Neto matched his career high of 26 home runs set last season.
Starter Grayson Rodriguez encountered difficulty in the first, when he loaded the bases on a walk and two singles. Neto deftly fielded Morales’ grounder to short and got the force at home, and Rodriguez induced Lile’s fly to left to escape the jam after throwing 31 pitches.
From there, Rodriguez didn’t permit a runner past first until Abrams doubled with one out in the sixth. Morales followed with a run-scoring single to end Rodriguez’s day. Reliever Tayler Saucedo yielded a single and hit a batter to load the bases before pinch hitter Brady House’s slow-rolling fielder’s choice grounder drove in Morales to tie it.
Rodriguez allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings while striking out four.