Jackson Rutledge had an impressive debut as a starting pitcher in the major leagues, striking out six batters. Jesse Winker hit his 11th home run, contributing to the Washington Nationals’ 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night, which snapped their five-game losing streak.
Rutledge, the Nationals’ first-round draft pick in 2019, had only pitched one inning in a previous game this season. In this start, he allowed three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. Robert Garcia earned the win by pitching 1 1/3 innings, while Kyle Finnegan closed the game with two strikeouts in the ninth for his 24th save.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez praised Garcia’s performance, highlighting his electric fastball and overall strong pitching. Winker’s RBI double in the first inning gave Washington an early 1-0 lead, and they added two more runs in the fourth inning. The Brewers responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Winker extended the Nationals’ lead again in the fifth inning with a home run off Freddy Peralta, who allowed four runs on 10 hits over five innings and struck out six.
“It’s great, especially on the road,” Winker commented after the game. “Jackson pitched well, all the guys that came in behind him did great and we made a bunch of great defensive plays. It was a really good win.”
Despite Peralta’s efforts, Brewers manager Pat Murphy acknowledged a few mistakes from his pitcher and expressed overall satisfaction with his performance. The loss marked the Brewers’ second consecutive defeat and their sixth in the last eight games, although they remain atop the NL Central standings.
