WASHINGTON (Interstat) — Trey Yesavage pitched six solid innings, Louis Varland recorded his 23rd save and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park, evening the three-game series after a loss the previous night.

Toronto, which entered the game with a 49-60 record, improved to 50-60. Washington fell to 55-55 after dropping two of the last three contests.

The Blue Jays strung together a three-run eighth inning to break a 2-1 tie, providing the decisive margin in a game that remained tight until the late stages.

Yesavage, now 5-5 on the season, allowed one run on four hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out three. The right-hander worked out of a jam in the fourth inning when Washington scored its first run, then retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.

Orlando Ribalta took the loss for Washington, falling to 0-2. Ribalta allowed two runs on three hits in one inning of relief, including the go-ahead run in the seventh.

The game remained scoreless through three innings as both starters exchanged zeroes. Toronto threatened in the first when Nathan Lukes walked and Kazuma Okamoto singled, putting runners at the corners with one out. But George Springer struck out swinging and Okamoto was caught stealing second to end the inning.

Washington broke through in the fourth. CJ Abrams walked with one out and advanced to second on a groundout by Harry Ford. Daylen Lile grounded out to first, moving Abrams to third. Jacob Young then doubled to left field, scoring Abrams and giving the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Toronto answered in the sixth. Springer walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a groundout by Alejandro Kirk. After Daulton Varsho flied out, Ernie Clement doubled to left, scoring Springer to tie the game 1-1.

The Blue Jays took the lead in the seventh. Okamoto led off with a single, but Springer struck out. Kirk singled to right, moving Okamoto to third. Varsho then singled to third, scoring Okamoto and giving Toronto a 2-1 advantage.

The decisive inning came in the eighth. Davis Schneider led off with a double to left. Yohendrick Piñango singled to left, putting runners at the corners with no outs. Nathan Lukes struck out, bringing up Okamoto. Okamoto doubled to right-center, scoring Schneider and Piñango to make it 4-1. Springer followed with a single to left, scoring Okamoto and extending the lead to 5-1.

Washington answered in the bottom of the eighth. James Wood doubled to right and scored on a single by Luis García Jr. to cut the deficit to 5-2. Washington loaded the bases with two outs, but Daylen Lile struck out on a foul tip to end the threat.

Varland entered in the ninth and retired the side in order, striking out one. The left-hander earned his 23rd save of the season.

Key performances included James Wood, who went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored for Washington. Luis García Jr. had a single and an RBI. For Toronto, Kazuma Okamoto went 3 for 5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. Ernie Clement doubled and drove in a run. George Springer singled and scored.

Washington starter Zack Littell pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Trevor Williams threw 1 1/3 perfect innings with one strikeout.

Toronto outhit Washington 12-6. The attendance was 20,044. The game time was 2 hours, 59 minutes.

The Blue Jays now head home for a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals starting Friday. The Nationals travel to Atlanta for a four-game set against the Braves beginning Thursday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington Nationals 6, Toronto Blue Jays 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Toronto with a 51.20 percent probability to win. Toronto had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of seven went over the over-under line of nine and a half.