Nationals Collapse After Eight-Run Lead

**Corey** (0:00)
It's June 11th. Welcome to Washington Nationals News Today, AI-powered coverage of Your Squad. I'm Corey with the story. The Nationals just suffered a brutal loss, dropping an 11-10 game to the Giants. They were up 9-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but a massive bullpen collapse allowed the Giants to storm back and win.
This is apparently the first time in franchise history the Nationals have lost a game with an eight-run lead entering the eighth.
Manager Blake Butera called it one of the worst losses he's ever been a part of, and you can bet it's going to sting for a while. The team was on the verge of sweeping their road trip, feeling good after some early offense, including a home run from James Wood and then more runs. In the sixth and seventh innings, the mood in the clubhouse was supposed to be celebratory, but instead it was dead silent. Pitcher Paxton Schultz took full responsibility for giving up five earned runs in the eighth, including two home runs, saying he did a terrible job, and needs to figure out how to prevent that from happening again.
It's tough when you're on the mound and things unravel like that, especially when your team has been playing so well offensively. Despite the gut-wrenching defeat, the Nationals are trying to keep perspective. They're still sitting at 35 wins and 34 losses, just one game back of a wild card spot. Their offense has been the best in the league, so this loss, while painful, isn't going to derail their season. The players are saying they'll remember this feeling and use it as motivation. They know it's just one game in a long season, and they're focused on moving forward to their next series. It's about learning from the mistakes and getting back on track.