Miles Mikolas' 7 shutout innings lift Nationals to 10-1 rout of Mariners

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Washington Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, right, celebrates his home run with third base coach Victor Estevez (7) during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) — Washington Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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1:14 PM on Sunday, June 14

By PATRICK STEVENS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Miles Mikolas pitched seven shutout innings in relief of an opener, and the Washington Nationals scored five runs in the fourth inning to pull away from the Seattle Mariners 10-1 on Sunday.

Keibert Ruiz and James Wood homered for Washington.

Seattle has lost four of five and went 4-6 on its road trip that included stops in Detroit and Baltimore.

Mikolas (2-5) retired 20 of the 23 batters he faced to earn his first victory since May 6. He struck out three and allowed three singles.

With the game tied at 1-1, the Nationals opened the fourth with five consecutive hits against Emerson Hancock (5-3). The key hits included Ruiz’s go-ahead single to left, Daylen Lile’s RBI double to right and Nasim Nuñez’s two-run single against a drawn-in infield.

Nuñez moved up to third on Hancock’s errant pickoff attempt and beat first baseman Josh Naylor’s throw home on Jorbit Vivas’ grounder to make it 6-1.

Hancock allowed six runs in four innings while striking out two. It was the first time the right-hander failed to complete five innings in 14 starts this season.

Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz, pitching for the first time since Monday, faced two batters in the eighth before leaving the game. Manager Dan Wilson said Muñoz had lower back tightness and was day to day.

The Mariners took a lead against PJ Poulin when Cole Young led off the game with an infield single and scored when Naylor doubled and center fielder Jacob Young bobbled the carom off the wall.

Wood led off the first with a blast to right, becoming the first Nationals player with consecutive 20-homer seasons since Juan Soto in 2021 and 2022.

Naylor fouled a ball off his right shin before flying out in the sixth and was replaced on defense in the bottom of the inning. Wilson said X-rays were negative.

Up next

Seattle is off Monday and has not announced pitching plans for Tuesday’s home game against Baltimore.

Washington LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.70 ERA) starts Monday as the Nationals’ homestand continues against Kansas City.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb