Washington Nationals Reaction: Yusmeiro Petit/Bullpen Step Up In Relief

By Ricky Keeler | Apr 21, 2016

Apr 15, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (L) and catcher Wilson Ramos (R) celebrate a victory against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Washington Nationals won 9-1. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

On a night where Joe Ross left after two innings, the Nats’ bullpen saved the day in the win over the Marlins

While most of the talk around the Washington Nationals pitching has been about the rotation and their Major League leading 1.94 ERA, the new look bullpen has also been a great story so far. In the first 14 games of the year, the bullpen’s ERA of 2.35 is the second lowest in the National League (Cubs are first at 2.02).

Last night, at Marlins Park, the bullpen had to come in earlier than expected. After two innings, Joe Ross had to leave the game because of blister on his right middle finger. However, it was shown last night why Yusmeiro Petit is a valuable piece to this bullpen as he was able to hold the Marlins to one run over four innings.

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When the Nationals signed the former Giant to a one-year deal this winter, they signed him to be the long man or make a spot start in case of an injury, such as Ross’ blister. Last night, he needed to give the Nats some innings and protect the early 2-0 lead and he was able to do that.

Out of the 45 pitches that Petit threw, 32 went for strikes. According to Brooks Baseball, 15 of the 19 fastballs he threw were called strikes. The only mistake the right-hander made in the entire game was in the bottom of the fifth when he hung a breaking ball to Derek Dietrich, which ended up being a home run.

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Once Petit left the game in the seventh, Baker went to Oliver Perez to face Giancarlo Stanton. It was a surprising decision because Perez was facing a power-hitting right-hander with Stanton and Perez had never faced him before. However, the left-hander struck him out swinging with a slider and ended up throwing a 1-2-3 inning.

One inning later, Blake Treinen was able to use that sinking fastball to get another key ground ball when Adeiny Hechavarria grounded into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play, which was similar to how he ended the eighth against the Braves back on April 12, but that situation was with the bases loaded.

In the ninth, it was Jonathan Papelbon’s turn. After blowing the save on Sunday, Papelbon gave up two-out single to Christian Yelich, setting up a battle with Stanton. I liked that Papelbon went after Stanton, who could have tied it with one swing. The Nats’ closer threw Stanton all fastballs and struck him out looking to end the night. In fact, all three of Stanton’s strikeouts came against the bullpen.

Next: Recap: Early Offense Leads to 3-1 Win Over Marlins

Another thing that stood out after the game was when Papelbon told Dan Kolko of MASN that this is “probably the most talented bullpen I’ve ever been a part of.”

Of course, when Papelbon was with the Red Sox in 2007, their bullpen led the AL with a 3.10 ERA en route to a World Series championship, so this bullpen still has a long way to go to reach that goal. Plus, this bullpen also has the fewest strikeouts of any team in the NL (37).

However, while the Nats’ bullpen has yet to face some of the tough lineups in the league, Baker has done a good job of not overworking them through the first 14 games. It will be interesting to see how this bullpen fares throughout the year. So far, the bullpen has definitely passed the first early test of the year.

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