Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Nats Still Have Concerns Despite Walk-Off Win
Aug 13, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor (3) hits a single against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at AT&T Park. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Nationals went from playing in a blowout of the Braves on Thursday night where they scored 15 runs to playing a tight, extra-inning game against the Braves on Friday night. The Nats tied the game in the bottom of the ninth thanks to Matt den Dekker and won the game in the bottom of the tenth on a three run home run by Michael Taylor. Both den Dekker and Taylor were pinch hitting when they came through with clutch hits.
Taylor got the bucket of filth bath at home plate and a gatorade dump after the home run. What he didn’t get was chocolate syrup. The Nationals haven’t had many occasions lately to use the Hershey’s Syrup. It seemed the perfect opportunity to break out the sauce, but it didn’t happen. No word on whether the Nats are done with that particular celebration, or whether no one was expecting to use it again this season since there was none handy. I am sure some intrepid reporter or blogger will get to the bottom of the Hershey’s Syrup mystery shortly.
Tanner Roark made his first start since June 28th. Roark had been sent to the minors to start some games in preparation for taking over for Joe Ross when he eventually hits his innings limit. Roark had to complete the starting rotation sooner than anticipated with Stephen Strasburg’s start being pushed back due to back tightness he suffered on Sunday.
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Both Roark and Braves starter Julio Teheran danced in and out of trouble all night and both of them only gave up one run. Roark didn’t get through the fifth inning. That was not an unexpected development, as Roark hasn’t been stretched out in a starting role in a long time and did not get as many starts in the minors as the organization was anticipating before they put him back into the rotation.
Check out my takeaways from last night’s 5-2 Nats Win over the Braves:
Next: Bullpen Was Great Except For Storen
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Bullpen Was Great Except For Storen
Roark got into serious trouble in the fifth inning. He got one out, but then loaded the bases in the process by walking two hitters, although one was intentional, sandwiched around a double. He intentionally walking Freddie Freeman with two on, which was probably a wise decision considering the way Freeman has dominated the Nats in his career
Matt Williams turned to Matt Thornton and asked him to put out the fire. Thornton brought a fire hose with him to the mound and managed to get out of the inning without allowing a run to score by getting two straight groundouts from A.J. Pierzynski and Adonis Garcia.
Felipe Rivero would pitch the sixth and seventh inning and retire all six batters that he faced. This game was tied 1-1 in the top of the eighth inning when Drew Storen came in to pitch. He allowed a run to tie the game. That run was set up by a double by Freeman, the first batter Storen faced. It was a good spot for another intentional walk of Freeman, but Williams decided to have Storen pitch to him. By the end of the eighth inning, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Braves and things were looking grim for the home team.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched both the ninth and tenth innings and ended up with the win. Papelbon was pitching in the ninth in a situation where the Nats were behind. He isn’t used to pitching in that situation and he put two runners on before he got out of the ninth unscathed. In the tenth inning, Papelbon was all business after having watched his team tie the game in the bottom of the ninth and pitched a perfect frame.
Next: Nats Having Trouble Scoring Runs Again
Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Nationals Have Trouble Scoring Runs (Again)
Although the final score of 5-2 didn’t reflect the game, the Nationals had trouble plating runners in this one. They had plenty of chances to blow this game open, but never got the job done. The Nats have a bad habit of scoring few runs the game after they score a ton. Friday night’s game was no exception.
In the bottom of the third, the Nationals had runners on the corners with one out. Anthony Rendon would strike out swinging, Bryce Harper was intentionally walked to load the bases for Ryan Zimmerman, but Zimmerman would line out to right to end the inning.
The Nats got another runner to third with less than two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but Jose Lobaton would ground into an inning ending 1-6-3 double play.
The bases were loaded again in the bottom of the sixth with less than two out. Ian Desmond struck out and Lobaton flew out. The strikeout by Desmond was grim. Tonight, Desmond was back to swinging like he is trying to hit a six run home run every time he comes to the plate. His swing was out of control and he was swinging at pitches out of the zone.
The Nats had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth and avoid the extra innings. After Trea Turner, pinch running for Yunel Escobar, scored the tying run on the single by den Dekker, Jayson Werth singled to keep the inning alive. With two on and two out, Rendon ground out to end the inning.
Although there were lots of hits and walks drawn, the Nationals had trouble getting a fly ball for a sacrifice or a single when there was a runner on third with less than two outs. All in all, the team got the win, but the team has to improve on the 4-for-12 performance they had with runners in scoring position.
Next: Attendance Starting To Fail?
Mandatory Credit: H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports
Attendance Is Starting To Fall
The possibility that the Nationals may not make the playoffs may be seeping into the consciousness of the fair weather Nationals fans.
Thursday night was a nesting doll giveaway for the fans at the park, with the added incentive of 100 lucky fans who found a golden ticket in the box with their dolls receiving a special edition giveaway of ten nesting dolls. That fan perk and the chance to see the Nationals beat the Braves wasn’t enough to get the fans to the park. Attendance for Thursday night’s game was only 28,627, even though the first 25,000 fans would get the nesting doll treat.
Last night’s attendance was worse. Only 23,536 fans were at the park to see the thriller with the Braves. This is the first time in a long time that Nats attendance in back-to-back games was below 30,000. I know it is the beginning of a holiday weekend, but the Nationals didn’t have these low attendance numbers over the Memorial Day or July 4th holiday weekends.
The last home game before the Nationals went out of town to play the St. Louis Cardinals the attendance was pretty normal–34,488. It’s possible that some fans decided that dropping two out of three to the Cardinals and losing ground against the Mets was enough to make them lose hope that the Nats were going to win the division and make the playoffs. But, if the team can continue to build on their three game winning streak, the fans should be back in the park when the team begins a three game series against New York on Monday.
Next: Taylor's Walk-Off Home Run Gives Nats Win Over Braves In Ten Innings