Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Nats Offense Breaks Out To Gain Series Split

Aug 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Casey Janssen (44) is removed from the game by Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams (9) during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Papelbon Can’t Fix Everything Wrong With Nats Bullpen

Janssen started the seventh inning off by walking Saltalamacchia. He then gave up back to back singles to Yasmany Tomas and Welington Castillo. Janssen had no movement on his pitches. This is a problem when this happens to Janssen, because he doesn’t throw over 86 miles per hour and without movement on his pitches, he is extremely hittable.

With the bases loaded, Janssen got a pop out from Chris Owings, but then gave up a double to Ender Inciarte which scored two runs. The score was now 4-3 and Ross’ win was in danger, as was the game for the Nats. There were runners on second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly would have tied the game.

Matt Williams would go to left-handed reliever Matt Thornton, who turned in a terrible performance in Saturday’s game against the Mets, and took the loss in that game out of the bullpen. Yesterday, he relieved Janssen and got two crucial outs to end the top of the eighth inning without allowing any more runs to score.

Despite the addition of Jonathan Papelbon as the closer, the Nationals bullpen still remains inconsistent. From night-to- night, no one knows if there will be a hero or a goat coming out of the bullpen doors.

After Wednesday night’s meltdown, Aaron Barrett was optioned to triple-A Syracuse to work on his issues while Blake Treinen was called up from Syracuse to take his place.

Treinen pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Diamondbacks and looked good. However, it was in a low stress situation. Treinen pitched very well while in Syracuse, but the time will tell whether Treinen has gained consistent improvement in his pitching.

Next: Nationals Line Up Produces, But Needs Tweaking