WASHINGTON (Interstat) – The Washington Nationals used a pair of multi-run innings to defeat the Seattle Mariners 8-3 on Saturday evening at Nationals Park, splitting the first two games of the series in front of 30,004 fans in a game that lasted 2 hours, 55 minutes.

Seattle, which fell to 37-35, had won the series opener 10-2 on Friday. Washington improved to 36-35 with the victory.

The Mariners took the game’s first lead with a three-run fifth inning. After a scoreless first four frames, Seattle loaded the bases with one out when Miles Mastrobuoni reached on a force out and advanced on a throwing error by second baseman Nasim Nunez. Mitch Garver singled to center to drive in Mastrobuoni, and Colt Emerson followed with a two-run home run to right field, his sixth of the season, putting Seattle ahead 3-0.

Washington answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth. James Wood singled, and Luis Garcia Jr. launched a two-run homer to right-center field, his ninth, tying the game at 3-3. The Nationals tacked on one more in the inning on a CJ Abrams single, but Daylen Lile grounded out to end the frame with Washington leading 5-3.

The Nationals broke the game open in the seventh. Andres Chaparro, pinch-hitting and later moving to first base, led off with a double. Curtis Mead walked, and Abrams singled to left to score Chaparro and push the lead to 6-3. After a groundout advanced the runners, Dylan Crews reached on a fielder’s choice that cut down Mead at the plate on a successful challenge. Jose Tena then singled to center, scoring Crews and sending the margin to 8-3.

Washington starter Cade Cavalli earned the win, improving to 4-4. He pitched five innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out five. Seattle starter Luis Castillo took the loss, falling to 2-6. Castillo allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and two walks over five innings with three strikeouts.

Key performances for Washington included Chaparro, who went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. Crews finished 1-for-4 with an RBI. Cavalli’s outing was backed by a bullpen that combined for four scoreless innings. Richard Lovelady worked two-thirds of an inning, allowing three hits but no earned runs. PJ Poulin threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Brad Lord contributed two hitless innings with two strikeouts. Orlando Ribalta tossed two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit. Curtis Mead went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. Nasim Nunez went 0-for-3 with a walk. Drew Millas went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, reaching once on catcher’s interference.

For Seattle, Emerson finished 1-for-4 with the home run and two RBIs. Garver went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Cole Young had two hits in four at-bats. The Mariners collected eight hits to Washington’s 10.

The most important part of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Washington erased Seattle’s three-run lead with a two-run homer by Garcia Jr. and a subsequent single by Abrams. That sequence not only tied the game but also shifted momentum firmly in the Nationals’ favor, as they never trailed again.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Seattle 5, Washington 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Seattle a 57.30 percent probability of winning, and the Mariners were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 11 runs went under the over-under line of 8.5.