SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — Brad Lord pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and the Washington Nationals defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-3 on Tuesday night at Oracle Park, winning the middle game of a three-game series.

Lord, who entered with one out in the fifth inning, allowed three hits and struck out one while earning his fourth win without a loss. The Nationals improved to 35-33, while the Giants fell to 27-41 before an announced crowd of 35,493 in a game that lasted 3 hours, 17 minutes.

Washington struck first against Giants starter Adrian Houser (2-6), who lasted only one inning. James Wood lined a single to left field, and Luis García Jr. followed by launching his eighth home run of the season to right field, scoring Wood for a 2-0 lead. García Jr. finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

The Nationals added to their lead in the fifth. Jacob Young led off with a triple to center field and scored on a ground-ball single by Wood, making it 3-0. Wood stole second, but Washington could not push across additional runs that inning.

San Francisco answered in the bottom of the fifth. Rafael Devers walked, and Luis Arraez singled to put runners on first and third. After a strikeout, Jung Hoo Lee doubled to right field, driving in both Devers and Arraez to cut the deficit to 3-2. Lee’s double snapped a scoreless stretch for the Giants, who had managed only three hits through four innings. Houser had been removed after the first, and reliever Landen Roupp worked three scoreless innings before giving way to Sean Newcomb.

Washington regained its two-run lead in the seventh. Young and Wood singled to start the inning. Andrés Chaparro walked to load the bases, and Dylan Crews walked to force in a run, making it 4-2. With the bases still loaded, CJ Abrams popped out on the infield fly rule, but Daylen Lile walked to score Chaparro and push the lead to 5-2. Lile finished 0-for-2 with two walks and an RBI.

The Nationals tacked on an insurance run in the ninth. Abrams reached on a throwing error by third baseman Matt Chapman and advanced to second. Lile then tripled to center field, scoring Abrams to give Washington a 6-2 advantage.

Giants rookie Bryce Eldridge homered to center field in the bottom of the ninth, his third of the season, cutting the final margin to 6-3. Eldridge also walked twice and finished 1-for-3.

Washington outhit San Francisco 8-9, with Wood collecting three singles and scoring twice. Young added a single, triple and a run. Nasim Nuñez went 1-for-4 with a double, while Abrams went 0-for-5 with a strikeout and an error in the field. Drew Millas was 0-for-4, and Jorbit Vivas and Curtis Mead each went 0-for-3.

For the Giants, Arraez tripled and singled, and Lee doubled and singled. Chapman walked twice and committed the error that led to Washington’s final run. Jonah Cox tripled, and Daniel Susac singled.

The Nationals used five pitchers. Starter Mitchell Parker worked four innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four but did not factor in the decision. Lord entered in the fifth and stranded two inherited runners, retiring the side on a groundout and two flyouts. Clayton Beeter pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing no hits and striking out one, and Richard Lovelady worked the ninth, allowing Eldridge’s solo homer but closing out the victory.

Houser allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning for the Giants. Newcomb surrendered three runs on four hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. Tristan Beck worked two scoreless innings in relief.

Washington’s victory followed a 4-3 win on Monday, giving the Nationals the first two games of the series. The teams conclude the set Wednesday afternoon before Washington returns home to host Seattle on Friday. San Francisco opens a three-game home series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Francisco 5, Washington 4. The ELO system gave the Giants a 56.20 percent probability to win. San Francisco was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total of 9 runs went under the over/under line of 8.5.