Washington Nationals Rapid Reactions: Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant Highlight Wild Night At Wrigley

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May 26, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) stands in the outfield near the ivy during the fifth inning in a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

So far, this series between the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs has lived up the hype that it had at the beginning of the week. While there have been eight combined runs scored in these two games, there has been good starting pitching from both sides and lots of power.

The national storyline that people are following in this series is the 22-year old Nats right fielder Bryce Harper and the 23-year-old third baseman on the Cubs, Kris Bryant. On Tuesday night, both players hit game tying home runs to left field.

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There was good starting pitching last night between Kyle Hendricks and Jordan Zimmermann as both starters held the opposition to one run. With the last two games being as close as they have been, what does that mean for tonight’s epic pitching matchup between Max Scherzer and Jon Lester?

Of course, the Cubs found a way to win it late after the Nationals had a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth after Denard Span hit his second home run in as many nights in the top of the inning. After Bryant homered in the bottom of the frame, Chicago won it in the ninth on an Addison Russell walk-off double. The Cubs second baseman went 3-for-4 on the night with two doubles.

While you give the Cubs a ton of credit for their win, the Nats found a way to lose this game with a common problem that has plagued them thru the first 46 games of this young season: bad base running and sloppy defense by their shortstop. Check out more of my takeaways from last night’s thriller at Wrigley:

Next: Zimmerman And Hendricks Hold Offenses To One Run Each

May 26, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27) throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Zimmermann and Hendricks Silence Top Offenses

 The Nationals and Cubs are two of the top five teams in runs scored in the National League this month. Coming into last night, the Nats did not have one player who had seen Kyle Hendricks before. The 25-year old right-hander took full advantage of that.

Through the first five innings, the Nationals only had two hits against Hendricks. Those hits were an infield single by Denard Span in the third, which Starlin Castro saved from being an RBI single,  and a base hit by Tyler Moore in the fifth inning. The problem was Washington did not get many chances against Hendricks.

Even when they did, those innings would end quickly. Washington grounded into two double plays and were fooled all night by Hendricks’ sinker and changeup that he placed down and away from opposing hitters. While Bryce Harper would eventually homer off him in the seventh, Hendricks had enough command on his stuff to keep his team in the game. Hehas 13 ground ball outs in the no-decision.

As for Jordan Zimmermann, he struggled right out of the gate for the second straight outing. In the bottom of the first inning, Dexter Fowler hit a 2-2 fastball over the right field wall for a home run. Last season, Zimmermann allowed seven earned runs in the first inning for the whole season. This year, he has allowed six runs in the first and there’s four months left in the season.

Even though the Cubs hitters were able to drive Zimmermann’s pitch count up all night, including a ten pitch at-bat by Hendricks in the fourth that resulted in a walk, the Nationals right-hander was able to get out of multiple jams to keep his team in the game. In fact, the Cubs were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position before Russell’s double in the ninth.

Zimmermann struck out five batters over seven innings with four of those K’s coming in the final three innings of his outing. The one inning that stood out was the fifth when he struck out the side against Fowler, Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo. In the seventh, with Zimmermann at 110 pitches, he still found a way to strike out Fowler with a runner on second. All in all, it was another quality start for Zimmermann, but the bullpen could not get him a win.

Next: Harper And Bryant Hit Home Runs

May 26, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (17) hits a home run against the Washington Nationals during the eighth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Harper And Bryant Showcase The Future

Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant are two of the great young players in baseball. Last night, the two friends who grew up playing baseball together in Las Vegas stole the show at Wrigley Field on a game that was broadcasted on ESPN.

Let’s start with Harper. He went 1-for-4 on the night, but his one big hit came in the seventh inning. After working the count to 3-1 against Hendricks, he popped up a 89 mile per hour sinker that appeared to be a routine fly out to left. However, that’s where the Wrigley Field wind kicked in, which carried the ball over the wall in left field. Even Harper, who hit his 17th home run of the season, was stunned as the ESPN camera caught him saying wow as he crossed home plate.

Sometimes, the game of baseball has its way of evening itself out though. In the top of the ninth, Harper hit a laser to center field off Hector Rondon, but it went right to Fowler in center field. Even with that outcome, Harper still was able to provide his daily contribution.

As for Bryant, he has hit two home runs in as many nights in this series. He is hitting .264 this month with six home runs and 20 RBI’s. One of the things that is impressive about Bryant is that he is very pitch selective, just like Harper. In the four at-bats he had last night, he saw a total of 21 pitches.

The highlight at-bat came in the eighth inning against reliever Aaron Barrett. You can’t blame Matt Williams for going to Barrett in that spot because it was only for one batter. Plus, Drew Storen had thrown three out of the last four days, so Casey Janssen would have probably been used later in the game. In the end, on the eighth pitch of the at-bat against Barrett, Bryant crushed a 3-2 slider 477 feet off the left field scoreboard to tie the game.

Right now, Bryant has to be the lead candidate for NL Rookie Of The Year along with Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Plus, Bryant plays very good defense at the hot corner. In the second inning, he made a great barehanded play to throw out Wilson Ramos at first base. These two young players are becoming the next superstars in the game right before our eyes.

Next: Nationals Sloppy Defense Continues

May 26, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond (20) forces out Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro (13) during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Bad Defense And Baserunning Mistakes Haunt Nats

I have said repeatedly this season that the Nationals are one of the best teams in baseball, but they continue to get in their own way. That trend continued last night at Wrigley. First, it was Yunel Escobar. While the third baseman has had an excellent start this year, Tuesday night was not one of his better nights in a Nats uniform. He did go 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the game, but his offense won’t be remembered.

It started in the top of the first. With Bryce Harper at the plate, Escobar was picked off by catcher Miguel Montero at first base to end the inning. When Harper is up, you never want to run yourself out of an inning because Harper could easily make it a 2-0 game with one swing. Of course, that wouldn’t be Escobar’s worst blunder of the night.

Escobar got the Nats started in the top of the ninth with a single to left and he stole second on a Ryan Zimmerman strikeout. However, Escobar went off the base and was nearly tagged out during that sequence.

Wilson Ramos had a chance to give the Nationals back the lead against Rondon, who has had a rough start to his season as the Cubs closer. With the count 3-2, Escobar thought he could take third, but Rondon noticed and threw him out to end the scoring chance. You never want to make the final out of an inning at third base, especially with the way Ramos has been swinging the bat.

Let’s shift gears to the bottom of the ninth. With Chris Coghlan on first and one out, Joe Maddon sent up Jonathan Herrera to pinch hit for Rondon. Matt Grace was able to get the ground ball he wanted and Espinosa was able to get it to Desmond for the second out. However, Desmond threw the ball out of play going for the double play, which allowed Herrera to take second with two outs.

On the following play, Russell would double to right center to end the game. That error was Desmond’s 13th of the season, which is the most in the National League. Yes, his bat has heated up this month as he is currently on a 11-game hitting streak. That being said, his defense has not gotten better. He has made four errors this month after nine in April, but two of those errors have come in the last four days.

In that situation, with Herrera’s speed, you want Desmond to not make the throw there and have your defense set up to prevent Russell from another extra base hit. Plus, if the game went to the tenth inning, the Cubs had Jason Motte warming up, which would have been his fourth appearance in five days. You never know how the game would have turned out, but it’s another example of the Nationals beating themselves while making fundamental mistakes.

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