Los Angeles Angels at Washington Nationals: Final Score & Recap

The Washington Nationals held off the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 in ten innings on September 12, 2026, at Nationals Park, converting a dominant early lead into a nervous finish before securing the walk-off win. Washington staked its claim early, scoring once in the first and three times in the second to build a 4-0 cushion that held through seven innings. The DiamondIQ model's estimate of a home win opened at 62 percent before the game and eventually reached 100 percent, though the path there was far from comfortable.

The Angels mounted a serious threat in the top of the ninth, and two plays off Will Dion combined to nearly erase Washington's lead entirely. Denzer Guzman's double shifted win probability by plus-41.1 percent, the single largest swing of the game, and a Moisés Ballesteros sacrifice fly added another plus-25.3 percent, pulling Los Angeles within striking distance at 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth. Washington answered immediately, as Andrés Chaparro's single off Ben Joyce added plus-20.4 percent and restored a two-run cushion at 6-4. The Angels pushed across another run in the top of the tenth, but Vaughn Grissom's strikeout against Jack Sinclair cost Los Angeles 17.7 percent in win probability and proved fatal to the rally.

Harry Ford delivered the decisive blow in the bottom of the tenth, a fielders choice off José Fermin that ended the game and registered plus-35.9 percent in win probability, making him the game's top performer by WPA at plus-35.9 percent alongside a plus-1.4 RE24. Guzman led all batters at plus-38.1 percent WPA despite pitching for the losing side, reflecting how close his ninth-inning double came to flipping the outcome. On the mound, Andrew Alvarez was Washington's most valuable arm at plus-18.2 percent WPA, while the Angels finished with five runs on only four hits and committed two errors, defensive lapses that ultimately proved costly in a one-run game.