WASHINGTON (Interstat) — A dominant combined pitching effort from Andrew Alvarez and Miles Mikolas, punctuated by a decisive fifth-inning rally, propelled the Washington Nationals to a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday evening at Nationals Park, salvaging the final game of a three-game series.

In a contest that defied pregame statistical projections favoring the Giants, Washington’s pitching staff silenced a San Francisco lineup that had produced 17 runs in the first two games of the series. The Nationals’ three-run outburst in the fifth inning off Giants starter Robbie Ray proved to be all the support needed before an announced crowd of 20,026.

The most critical sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the fifth, breaking a tense scoreless deadlock. Nationals second baseman Nasim Nuñez led off with a soft bunt single. Catcher Keibert Ruiz followed by lacing a double down the left-field line, scoring Nuñez to give Washington a 1-0 lead. After a groundout moved Ruiz to third, first baseman Curtis Mead delivered the crushing blow, launching a two-run homer to left field off Ray to extend the lead to 3-0.

That inning stood in stark contrast to the Giants’ repeated failures in clutch situations. San Francisco out-hit Washington 8-7 but went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. They put two runners on with one out in the first inning but came up empty, and saw a promising threat in the eighth snuffed out by a double play.

The story of the game, however, was written from the mound. Nationals starter Andrew Alvarez, making a spot appearance, earned the win with 4 1/3 scoreless innings of three-hit ball, striking out five. He navigated traffic effectively before handing the ball to veteran Miles Mikolas, who was equally impressive in relief. Mikolas fired four shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out four to bridge the gap to the ninth.

Their work overshadowed a quality start from San Francisco’s Robbie Ray, who fell to 2-3 with the loss. Ray pitched six complete innings, allowing all three Nationals runs on seven hits while striking out seven. The Giants’ bullpen, featuring scoreless outings from JT Brubaker and Keaton Winn, kept the game within reach, but the offense could not respond.

San Francisco’s best late chance came in the eighth. Matt Chapman reached on an error by shortstop CJ Abrams, and Rafael Devers followed with a single. But Casey Schmitt grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, and pinch-hitter Jerar Encarnacion struck out swinging to end the threat. In the ninth, a leadoff double from Heliot Ramos went for naught as the next three Giants hitters were retired in order.

With the victory, Washington improved its season record to 10-12, while San Francisco fell to 9-13. The outcome contradicted most pregame forecasts, including Interstat’s projection of a 6-4 Nationals win and its ELO system, which gave the Giants a 56.4% probability of victory. The combined three runs fell dramatically under the over/under line of 8.5.

The Nationals now turn their attention to a four-game home series against the Atlanta Braves beginning Monday. The Giants, after losing two of three in the nation’s capital, head west to open a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.