DENVER (Interstat) — Hunter Goodman’s tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning lifted the Colorado Rockies to an 8-7 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night at Coors Field, splitting the two-game series before a crowd of 24,273.

Goodman, who finished 2 for 5 with a homer and an RBI, crushed his 31st home run of the season to left-center field off Washington reliever Clayton Beeter, giving the Rockies their second lead of the night. Colorado’s bullpen then retired the Nationals in order in the ninth, with closer Jordan Romano recording his seventh save.

The game featured four lead changes and a back-and-forth slugfest typical of Coors Field. Colorado outhit Washington 12-10, with each side scoring in five separate innings.

Washington struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. After James Wood struck out and Luis García Jr. grounded out, José Tena singled to center field. CJ Abrams then launched a two-run homer to center field, his 23rd, giving the Nationals an early 2-0 lead.

The Rockies answered emphatically in the bottom of the second. With one out and runners on first and second after a walk and a hit-by-pitch, Mickey Moniak singled to center, scoring TJ Rumfield. Troy Johnston followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Kyle Karros to tie the game at 2. After Ezequiel Tovar struck out, Jake McCarthy doubled to right, plating Moniak, and Cole Carrigg singled to center to drive in McCarthy, putting Colorado ahead 4-2.

Washington tied the game in the top of the third. After Wood flied out, García Jr. tripled to center. Tena reached on a fielder’s choice that erased García Jr. at home, but Abrams followed with his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to right-center, his 24th, knotting the score at 4.

Colorado regained the lead in the bottom of the third. Willi Castro led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a groundout by Kyle Karros, making it 5-4.

The Nationals countered in the top of the fourth. Keibert Ruiz walked, Nasim Nuñez singled, and after Jacob Young struck out, Wood doubled to left, scoring both Ruiz and Nuñez, putting Washington ahead 6-5.

The Rockies equalized in the bottom of the fifth. Hunter Goodman doubled to right, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a single by TJ Rumfield, tying the game at 6.

Colorado took the lead again in the bottom of the sixth when Moniak homered to right-center, his 16th, making it 7-6. The Rockies loaded the bases with two outs, but Willi Castro struck out to end the inning.

Washington tied the game in the top of the seventh. Wood led off with a double, García Jr. singled to put runners at the corners, and Jorbit Vivas lifted a sacrifice fly to left that scored Wood, tying the game at 7. Abrams walked, but Curtis Mead struck out to end the threat.

The pivotal moment came in the bottom of the eighth. After two quick outs by Beeter, Goodman stepped in and crushed a solo homer to left-center field, breaking the tie and giving the Rockies an 8-7 lead.

Romano closed the door in the ninth, striking out Wood and García Jr. and getting a lineout from pinch-hitter Luis García Jr. to end the game.

Beeter (3-3) took the loss, allowing one run on one hit in one inning of relief. Washington used five pitchers, with Miles Mikolas starting and allowing seven runs on nine hits over five innings. Colorado’s Juan Mejia (3-6) earned the win with a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one.

Abrams was the offensive star for Washington, going 2 for 3 with two homers and four RBIs. Wood added two doubles and two RBIs, finishing 2 for 5. For Colorado, Moniak was 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs, and Goodman provided the decisive blow.

The Nationals fell to 51-51 on the season, while the Rockies improved to 41-62. Washington had won the series opener Monday 7-3. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Nationals, who had taken the previous three games against and Colorado.

Colorado’s bullpen was effective, with Brennan Bernardino tossing 1-1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout, and Victor Vodnik contributing a scoreless inning. Washington relievers Orlando Ribalta and Matt Krook each threw scoreless outings, striking out two and one respectively.

The game lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes.

Washington continues its road trip with the series finale Wednesday at Coors Field before returning home to host Arizona. Colorado remains home to face Washington again Wednesday, then travels to Milwaukee for a weekend series.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington 4, Colorado 3, while Interstat’s ELO system gave Washington a 58.1 percent probability to win. Washington was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. The combined total of 15 runs went under the over-under line of 12.5.