Texas Rangers vs Washington Nationals

José Tena opened the scoring in the third inning, launching a solo home run to centre field off Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. It was Tena's seventh homer of the season and came with two outs.

Andrés Chaparro doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on a Keibert Ruiz single to right, making it 2-0. Chaparro delivered again in the sixth, crossing the plate on a Jorbit Vivas groundout after Ruiz had moved him to third.

The Nationals broke it open in the seventh against Rangers reliever Jon Gray. After Abimelec Ortiz doubled and Tena walked, Chaparro crushed a three-run homer to left — his eighth of the year — to cap a 3-for-4 night with three RBIs and three runs scored.

Cavalli's dominance from the outset set the tone. He struck out two of the first three batters he faced and fanned 10 through four innings — a pace that drew comparisons to Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout game (Scherzer had nine Ks through four that night), as noted by MLB Film Room. Cavalli allowed only three singles and one walk while needing just 84 pitches (58 strikes) across six innings.

The Rangers never mounted a serious threat. Their best chance came in the second when Evan Carter singled and Jarred Kelenic walked, but Elias Díaz and Nicky Lopez struck out to end the inning. Texas went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Cade Cavalli (W, 11-5): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K, 0 HR. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.22 and has now delivered eight consecutive quality starts, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh in his previous outing against the Cubs.

Andrés Chaparro: 3-for-4, 2B, HR (8), 3 RBI, 3 R. The designated hitter accounted for half of Washington's RBIs and scored three of the team's six runs.

José Tena: 2-for-3, HR (7), 2 RBI, BB. His solo homer in the third gave the Nationals the lead and set the tone for the evening.

Kumar Rocker (L, 4-10): 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. The Rangers starter was solid but outduelled, dropping to 4-10 with a 4.46 ERA.

Washington out-hit Texas 10-4 and struck out 13 Rangers batters while the Nationals' own pitchers walked just three. Despite allowing six runs, the Texas bullpen (Winn, Gray, Montgomery) was charged with four earned runs over four innings — Gray's three-run frame in the seventh was the decisive blow. The Nationals' 3-for-12 mark with runners in scoring position is modest, but they made it count: all three hits drove in runs, and two went for extra bases.

The box score's 6-0 final undersells Cavalli's dominance. His 11 strikeouts in six innings produced a 16.5 K/9 rate for the outing, well above his season mark. The four Texas hits were all singles, and only Corey Seager reached scoring position twice — both times on singles with two outs.

The Nationals halted their four-game slide and improved to 61-67. They remain in fourth place in the NL East but are playing spoiler in interleague action. Washington returns home to face the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

The Rangers dropped to 62-65, sinking further below .500 in the AL West. The offence has been shut out in two of their last three games after managing only four hits Wednesday. Texas continues its homestand against the Cleveland Guardians starting Friday.

Cavalli's emergence as a frontline starter is the story of Washington's season, and this outing — his eighth straight quality start — reinforced that trajectory. The Rangers' offence, which pounded five runs Tuesday, reverted to the form that has plagued them through a middling season. One team has a building block for the future; the other is searching for answers.