Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Nats Offense Picks Up Jordan Zimmermann In Win Over Orioles
By Ricky Keeler
Jul 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Drew Storen (22) pitches during ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Washington won 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Nats Bullpen Rebounds After Bad Friday Night
With Zimmermann only lasting five innings, it was up to the Nats bullpen to hold the team’s 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Blake Treinen would be the first pitcher to come into the game. While Treinen did not give up a run over 1.2 innings, he did struggle with his control.
In the sixth inning, he walked J.J. Hardy with one out, but got out of it by getting Ryan Flaherty to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. However, during the next inning, his command issues continued. Treinen walked the first two batters, but Chris Parmelee bunted the first pitch and Wilson Ramos got the lead runner at third for a big first out.
After Treinen battled to get Adam Jones to ground out to first after falling behind 3-1 in the count, Williams went to the bullpen and brought in left-hander Felipe Rivero, so Jimmy Paredes would hit from the right side. Paredes hits .250 as a right-handed hitter and .305 as a left-handed hitter. The move worked as Rivero got ahead 0-2 and Paredes would fly out to center to end the inning and leave two runners on base.
Casey Janssen would pitch the eighth inning for the second straight night. This time, he had no issues as he struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 inning. It is interesting to see how Williams has not used David Carpenter the last two nights in the eighth inning. Carpenter just came back from paternity leave on Wednesday, but has yet to appear in a game since.
Drew Storen came in to pitch the ninth and ran into a little bit of trouble. With one out, Matt Wieters had a pinch hit single and Manny Machado walked to bring the tying run to the plate. After Parmelee flew out to right, it was up to Jones.
During the at-bat, Jones hit an 0-1 slider foul down the right field line, but it just missed being fair. If that ball landed fair, Baltimore would have cut the Nats lead to one. However, Storen used his slider to get Jones to pop out to second to end the game and record his 26th save of the season. All in all, after the Nats bullpen could not hold a 2-1 lead on Friday, they were able to keep the O’s off the board for the final four innings last night to secure the win.