CLEVELAND — The Washington Nationals defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on May 26, 2026, at Progressive Field, securing their fourth consecutive victory. The win lifted the Nationals to two games over .500 on the season.

Keibert Ruiz delivered a key two-run single off Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo in the second inning. Ruiz finished the game with two hits, raising his season batting average to .262 and his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) to .763.

James Wood hit his 15th home run of the 2026 season during the contest. Over the three-game series against the Guardians, Wood collected seven hits and two home runs. Through May 26, he held a .276 batting average and a .964 OPS for the season.

Andres Chaparro extended the Nationals’ lead with a two-run, two-out single in the top of the ninth inning. The insurance runs proved critical after reliever Mitchell Parker allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

Cade Cavalli earned the win with six innings of work, allowing no runs while issuing two walks and recording seven strikeouts. His fastball averaged over 97 mph and reached 99 mph during the outing. Cavalli entered the game with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP for the season, but had posted a 1.14 WHIP in May prior to this start.

Cleveland’s Joey Cantillo was removed after two innings, having already surrendered multiple runs. The Guardians were unable to recover from the early deficit despite their ninth-inning rally.

The Nationals’ four-game winning streak began with a victory over the Guardians on May 23. They followed that with wins on May 24 and May 25 to complete a series sweep before securing the May 26 win to extend their streak.