Luis Garcia Jr. and Daylen Lile each belted two home runs to lead the Washington Nationals to a 9-5 home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

Lile also doubled and drove in four runs and Garcia had three RBIs. Jose Tena hit a two-run homer and James Wood had a double, a triple and scored a run for Washington.

Bryan Reynolds doubled, homered and drove in two runs while Esmerlyn Valdez was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI for the Pirates.

With one out in the first, Garcia lined his 17th homer of the season to right field.

An inning later, Lile hit a solo shot to center, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

In the third, Reynolds homered with two outs on a 2-0 count to trim the Nationals’ lead to 2-1.

Washington answered in the bottom of the inning, extending its lead to 5-1. Wood led off with a triple into the right field corner and scored on Tena’s two-run bomb.

CJ Abrams followed with a single, and after Dylan Crews lined out, stole second. Lile’s RBI double knocked in Abrams.

Jake Mangum’s two-out liner in the fourth knocked off Washington starter Foster Griffin’s glove. But second baseman Nasim Nunez charged in, barehanded the ball and threw out Mangum with a sidearm toss to first.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the seventh. After Jared Triolo doubled with two outs and stole third, Konnor Griffin and Brandon Lowe drew walks off reliever Justin Lawrence. The Nationals brought in Clayton Beeter from the bullpen, and he struck out Reynolds to escape the jam.

In the bottom of the seventh, Garcia made it 7-1 with his 18th homer of the season, a two-run blast to right.

Lile stretched Washington’s lead to 9-1 with his second homer of the game, a two-run blast in the eighth.

Lowe, Reynolds, Valdez and Nick Gonzales each drove in a run with doubles in the ninth for Pittsburgh.

Griffin (9-2) allowed one run on four hits while walking one and fanning two in five innings for Washington.

Pirates starter Mitch Keller (6-6) yielded five runs on eight hits over six innings. He walked none and struck out one.

–Field Level Media

Trevor Rogers threw five shutout innings and Samuel Basallo hit a two-run homer as the Baltimore Orioles knocked off the host Cincinnati Reds 3-0 on Friday.

Rogers (6-7) allowed just two hits. Although he issued five walks while striking out four, the left-hander still pitched well enough to register his third win in as many starts.

Tyler Wells retired the Reds in order in the ninth to earn his first save since 2023. He was called upon after the Orioles placed closer Ryan Helsley on the 15-day injured list due to elbow discomfort he experienced while warming up on Wednesday.

Basallo, a 21-year-old rookie catcher, hit his 13th homer of the season with two outs in the third inning off Reds starter Brady Singer (3-8). However, Rogers already had all the support he needed before throwing his first pitch.

Gunnar Henderson, who walked to start the game, moved to second on Taylor Ward’s one-out single. Henderson stole third as Pete Alonso struck out. Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson threw wildly in an attempt to get an inning-ending double play, and Henderson scampered home with an unearned run as the ball went to the outfield.

Singer also lasted five innings, and he endured a bout of wildness, much like his counterpart. He only allowed three hits and struck out six, but the right-hander also walked five as two of the three runs he allowed were earned.

Three relief pitchers, Caleb Ferguson, Chase Petty and Julian Garcia, teamed to retire the last 11 Orioles, giving the Reds a chance for a rally.

Cincinnati had several opportunities to avoid its seventh shutout loss of the season. The Reds stranded 10 runners, the 15th time in 2026 they have left at least 10 on the basepaths. They left two runners on in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings and finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

All four of the Reds’ hits were singles.

After Rogers exited, Rico Garcia allowed a hit and a walk in two innings, and Yennier Cano followed with a one-hit inning.

The Orioles took the opener of a three-game set for their second win in a row. The Reds lost for the fifth time in six games.

–Field Level Media

Patrick Beach and Mathew Ryan were taken by surprise when Australia coach Tony Popovic executed a goalkeeper substitution just before a penalty-kick shootout against Egypt on Friday.

“You have to talk to the coaches about that,” Beach told reporters post-match. “I found out at the same time you guys did.

“Obviously there was a plan that was put in place, and it wasn’t for us to know about.”

Popovic defended that decision as well as his choice to tap 18-year-old defender Lucas Herrington with the match on the line after Egypt eliminated the Socceroos from the World Cup in the round of 32.

Egypt and Australia played to a 1-1 draw before the Pharaohs went 4-for-4 from the spot while Australia missed their first and fourth attempts in the shootout. Australia were vying for their first World Cup knockout victory in national team history.

When it was evident the match would require penalties, Popovic pulled out Beach in favor of Ryan. Beach had made three saves, including a last-second parry over the bar of Egypt’s potential game-winner during second-half stoppage. But Ryan is the national team’s captain and former No. 1 choice in net.

Ryan failed to stop a single attempt. He guessed the wrong direction for the last three.

“It didn’t work, so we can look at many things in the reasons behind it, but with Matty’s experience and, I think, if you looked at his record in saving penalties, Patrick is new as a goalkeeper not just with the national team, but even in club football,” Popovic said, citing the 22-year-old Beach’s lack of big-game experience. “We just felt that Matty’s experience will be the difference. In the end, it didn’t work out that way, but not because of Matty’s poor judgment or lack of ability. They took really good penalties.”

Beach went on to say he and Ryan “are here to do the job of whatever works best for the team” and he felt nothing but respect for Popovic. Ryan revealed that he, too, was caught by surprise.

“No, no, (I wasn’t told) before the match,” Ryan said in the mixed zone. “Just as extra time was beginning, (teammate Paul Izzo) and I got told to warm up and the first time I got told was five minutes before half time of extra time, that if we weren’t going to make any more subs then right at the end they were gonna put me in there.”

As for the other end of the pitch, Popovic caught heat from fans and analysts for his choice of penalty takers. He had subbed out two potential options, Nestory Irankunda and Cristian Volpato.

Defender Harry Souttar went first and cleared his shot into the stands. Jackson Irvine and Awer Mabli went on to convert to keep Australia’s hopes alive, but then Popovic chose another defender in the teenaged Herrington, who plays for Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids.

He clanged his shot off the crossbar before Egypt potted their fourth straight goal to win the shootout.

Popovic answered defensively when a reporter asked about the decision to tap Herrington.

“I’m sure you’d be saying something else if the young kid scored,” he said. “You’d probably be sitting there saying how wonderful it is that an 18-year-old took the penalty and scored.

“I trust him to play in a game that we needed to get a result against Paraguay, and a game where elimination was on the line. What’s the difference with a penalty?”

Herrington admitted “a lot of people would be wondering why I stepped up” to the spot.

“The coaching staff, the team, had my back,” Herrington said. “I was confident, so I knew where I wanted to put it, I did my routine and just unfortunately didn’t go my way. So I’ll keep working on it, keep working hard and hopefully come back.”

–Field Level Media