Neither the Nationals nor the Royals have managed to score consistently throughout the season, so perhaps it was fitting that tonight’s opening game of the interleague series between the two remained scoreless until the ninth inning.

The only difference: One of the teams is fighting for survival and an unexpected place in the postseason, while the other is doing its best for the fifth year in a row.

And at the end of the night, the Royals managed to keep their hopes alive with a 1-0 win in 10 innings, made possible only by an error by the Nationals.

Nasim Nuñez’s flat throw to first base allowed automatic runner Kyle Isbel to score from second base, finally breaking the scoreless deadlock. And when the Nats couldn’t bring their automatic runner home in the bottom half of the inning, they were left to ponder their 17th shutout loss of the season.

“It all came down to one play. And the execution, not being able to hit the ball,” manager Davey Martinez said. “That’s kind of been a recurring theme the last few weeks.”

The Nats entered this game averaging just 3.05 runs per game in September and having either failed to score a run or scored just one run in five of their last seven games. On the plus side, the Royals entered the game averaging just 2.9 runs per game this month, a major reason for the seven-game losing streak they brought with them to DC.

And the Nationals pitchers took full advantage. Mitchell Parker allowed five scoreless innings, while Derek Law and Jose A. Ferrer each managed two innings, giving their teammates a chance to win in the ninth inning.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t score a run of their own, so this game went into overtime, with the automatic runner theoretically making life a little easier for both pathetic lineups.

It helped Kansas City because without Isbel’s presence at second base early in the 10th inning, no one would have been able to score after Bobby Witt Jr.’s soft chopper to shortstop. Nuñez, who essentially took over the shortstop position after CJ Abrams’ surprise demotion, rushed to catch the ball and then threw it off balance to first base. The ball bounced and went past Juan Yepez, who couldn’t get a handle on it or recover in time to even make a play at the plate before Isbel scampered home with the first run of the night.

“Bobby is pretty fast. I saw it was a slow helicopter, so I tried to catch it with all my strength, but I couldn’t get it out of my glove,” Nuñez said. “I tried to do a one-hop, and that’s what happened.”

A nice play by Ildemaro Vargas with a sharp grounder down the third base line prevented the Royals from scoring another run or two, but the Nationals still had to find a way to score themselves in the second half of the tenth inning to either extend or win the game.

They didn’t. Jacob Young misfired, Vargas was grounded out, and pinch hitter Joey Gallo (after missing a game-winning home run by a few feet down the right field line) misfired, ending the game.

“Look, they’re all trying to finish the season strong,” Martinez said. “They’re really trying, I know that. It’s just a combination of their young age and really trying to do too much. What we’re asking them to do is stay in the middle of the pack and, frankly, just try to hit doubles. That just hasn’t happened.”

When he was called up to make his major league debut five months ago, Parker was guaranteed little more than a relief appearance for the recently injured Josiah Gray. Then the young left-hander turned heads with a surprisingly effective outing at Dodger Stadium, becoming the franchise’s first rookie starter to win in his debut since Stephen Strasburg in 2010.

The road was a little bumpy at times, but Parker never gave up his place in the rotation. Until his 13th career start, he never allowed more than three earned runs. He consistently maintained an ERA between 3.00 and just under 4.00. And he made it through 29 major league starts healthy, which is no small feat.

“It will definitely be a good feeling going into the offseason,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about what we need to work on to be even stronger and better next year.”

Parker’s 29th and final appearance was one of his most effective, if far from his most efficient. In his five innings, he allowed seven Royals batters to reach base, using 91 pitches to do so. But thanks to some tough pitches at key moments and some excellent defense (even from himself), he didn’t let anyone cross base.

Despite having all the bases loaded and no one out in the first inning, Parker bailed out with a line drive, a 6-4 double play and a sharp comebacker catch of his own behind the back for the third out. It was easily the best play of the season for a pitcher who was accused of five errors in his first 12 defensive opportunities, and it came at a very opportune time.

When was the last time he played a game like that?

“A long time ago,” he laughed. “High school.”

Parker also loaded all bases in the third inning. This time he escaped thanks to a nice defensive play by José Tena, who seemed far more confident at second base than at third.

Due to the high number of shots, he had to end the game earlier than he would have liked, but with a zero on the scoreboard, it was difficult to criticize his performance too much.

And so Parker’s rookie season ended in a no-decision, his record remained at 7-10, but his ERA dropped to 4.29 and his WHIP after 151 innings to 1.305.

“It’s great to get this many innings in this year,” he said. “Like we said when I came here, I just wanted to get as many starts as possible, stay healthy and get as many innings in as possible. So for me to be able to do that is great.”

Parker received a no-decision because his teammates failed to score a single run against Cole Ragan. They were even less dangerous against the Royals’ left-hander than their opponents were against Parker, yielding just three hits and three walks during his six innings on the mound.

“Some days, some pitchers look like they’re throwing Tic Tacs at the plate,” Nuñez said. “And some days, they look like they’re throwing beach balls. He just had a great day.”

There were, however, some hard-hit balls with runners on base. Nuñez smashed a 102 mph ball into center field in the second inning with two outs and a runner in scoring position, but the ball was caught. Luis García Jr. hit a drive to the left-field wall in the fourth inning, but was intercepted by a leaping Tommy Pham.

The Nats had another chance against Kansas City relief pitcher Kris Bubic in the seventh inning when Jacob Young hit a double to shallow center field. But Ildemaro Vargas (pinch hitter for Trey Lipscomb) grounded out and Nuñez popped out, ending that threat and leaving the team with 0 for 5 runners in scoring position.

“Right now, a lot of guys are under the baseball and they’re getting longer,” Martinez said of the state of his players’ swings. “They need to get shorter and be ready to hit the fastball. We had a few guys today that swung well, but not many.”