WASHINGTON (Interstat) — Nasim Nuñez had two run-scoring singles, CJ Abrams had two hits and scored twice, and the Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

José Tena added an RBI triple for Washington, which improved to 4-12 at Nationals Park but snapped a two-game skid against the Brewers. Milwaukee had taken the first two games of the series by scores of 4-1 and 6-1, extending its recent dominance that included four wins in the previous five head-to-head meetings.

The Brewers struck first in the fifth inning. Brandon Lockridge led off with a bunt single off Washington starter Mitchell Parker, moved to second on a walk to Sal Frelick and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by David Hamilton. Joey Ortiz followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Lockridge for a 1-0 lead.

Washington answered immediately in the bottom half. Abrams singled off Brewers starter Logan Henderson, then moved to second on a Daylen Lile strikeout. Nuñez lined a single to center that brought Abrams home to tie the game. Tena then drove a 1-1 pitch deep to center field for a triple, scoring Nuñez and giving the Nationals a 2-1 lead.

Henderson, who entered with an 0-0 record and a 3.60 ERA, settled in after that. The right-hander struck out eight over six innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs. He issued no walks and threw 87 pitches. Henderson’s performance kept Milwaukee within striking distance.

The Brewers tied the game in the top of the seventh. With one out, Gary Sánchez reached on a fly ball lost by Nationals right fielder James Wood in the sun, a one-out single off reliever Gus Varland. Jake Bauers followed with a single, and after a pitching change, Garrett Mitchell grounded into a forceout that scored pinch-runner Blake Perkins. But Richard Lovelady came on and struck out Brandon Lockridge to end the inning, preserving the 2-2 tie.

Washington regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Abrams led off with a single off reliever Brian Fitzpatrick, moved to third on a Daylen Lile groundout and scored on Nuñez’s second run-scoring single of the game, a line drive to left field. Brady House then singled, but Fitzpatrick induced a double play from Jorbit Vivas to end the inning.

Milwaukee’s bullpen allowed four hits and one run in two innings of relief. Fitzpatrick gave up one run on four hits in 1⅓ innings, while Jake Woodford threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.

The Brewers mounted a final threat in the ninth. With one out, Sánchez singled again, this time off Varland. Bauers followed with a single to put runners at first and third. Blake Perkins, who had entered as a pinch-runner, scored on a groundout by Mitchell that cut the lead to 3-2. But Lovelady, the fourth Washington reliever, struck out Lockridge to earn his first save of the season.

Zack Littell earned the win, improving to 1-4. He pitched 3⅔ innings of relief, allowing one hit and one earned run while striking out one. Parker started and threw two scoreless innings, striking out two. P.J. Poulin worked two innings, allowing one hit and no runs with two strikeouts.

Henderson took the loss, falling to 0-1. He pitched six innings, struck out eight and allowed two earned runs on three hits.

Offensively, the Nationals totaled seven hits to Milwaukee’s four. Abrams had two singles and scored twice. Nuñez went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Tena was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. For Milwaukee, Lockridge doubled and singled, Sánchez and Bauers each singled, and Mitchell drove in the team’s second run.

The game featured unusual pitching inefficiency. Milwaukee pitchers combined for eight strikes, 47 balls and eight balls in play, while Washington pitchers threw six strikes, 30 balls and six balls in play. The time of game was 2 hours 18 minutes before an announced crowd of 17,220 at Nationals Park.

Milwaukee fell to 18-15, while Washington improved to 16-19. The Brewers had won five of their previous six games entering Sunday, including a 13-1 rout of Arizona on April 30. Washington had lost three of its previous four but won for the fifth time in its last nine.

The series marked the second meeting between the teams this season. Washington had taken two of three in Milwaukee from April 10-12, including an 8-6 win in the finale. The Brewers won the first two games of this weekend set to take a 4-3 lead in the season series.

Milwaukee now travels to St. Louis for a three-game series starting Monday, while Washington hosts Minnesota for three games beginning Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Washington 5, Milwaukee 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Milwaukee a 64.90 percent probability to win. The Brewers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of five runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.