José Tena’s go-ahead double gives the Nationals a wild 10-9 win over the Guardians

By: The Associated Press Posted: 6:03 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 6, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — José Tena hit a go-ahead, two-run double during a wild seventh inning, and the Washington Nationals rallied to beat the Cleveland Guardians 10-9 in the opener of a doubleheader on Tuesday after blowing a four-run lead in the top of the frame.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2025 (518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

James Wood hit a 114.6 mph line drive into the Washington bullpen in the third inning, the 10th homer of the season for the Nationals’ second-year slugger. The two-run shot made it 3-2 in the first of two Washington rallies.

The Nationals were ahead 6-2 in the seventh when reliever Jose A. Ferrer allowed five of six batters to reach. Jhonkensy Noel started the Guardians’ surge with a pinch-hit RBI double. Cleveland went ahead 7-6 on a two-run single by Gabriel Arias, and Angel Martínez added an RBI infield hit.

Washington Nationals third baseman José Tena hits an RBI double during the seventh inning in the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Washington then scored four against Cade Smith (1-1) in the bottom half. Keibert Ruiz hit an RBI single and Dylan Crews broke out of a slump with a double that made it 8-all before Tena’s decisive double.

Jorge López (5-0) got two outs in the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth. Kyle Finnegan allowed a sacrifice fly to Arias in the ninth but closed it out for his 12th save.

Nationals starter Jake Irvin struggled with his command early but got through 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three walks.

Key moment

Washington’s Jacob Young had a two-out, two-run single in the sixth that made it 6-2.

Key stat

The fifth through ninth-place batters in the Guardians’ lineup had 11 of their 14 hits. Carlos Santana went 3 for 5 from the fifth spot, and the next four had two hits apiece, including Nolan Jones, who homered and doubled.

Up next

After Tuesday’s nightcap, the teams conclude a stretch of three games in 24 hours when they play Wednesday at 12:05 p.m.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb