Reaction: Washington Nationals Offense Struggles Against Jose Fernandez
Once again, the Washington Nationals offense was unable to get anything going against Jose Fernandez last night in a loss to the Marlins.
For the first time this season, albeit a short one, the Washington Nationals will enter tonight’s game on a losing streak after last night’s 6-1 loss to the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. They faced a familiar nemesis in Jose Fernandez, who has a great track record against the Nats.
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Washington had their chances early on against Fernandez, but they could not get the big hit against the best pitcher they have seen so far this season. Plus, just like in his first game against the Marlins, Tanner Roark put the team in a 3-0 hole to start, but the offense could not dig out of the hole.
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As far as the positives go, Daniel Murphy’s strong season continued as his hitting streak was extended to ten games with a leadoff single in the sixth against Fernandez. His batting average dropped to .415, but he still has the best batting average in the big leagues.
Murphy was also involved in the Nats’ only challenge of the night when he hit a ball to left field in the second. Washington challenged that the ball was foul, but the call stood on the field, which left Dusty Baker without a challenge for the rest of the game.
Before Stephen Strasburg takes on Adam Conley tonight (7:05 p.m ET, MASN2), here are my three takeaways from last night’s 6-1 loss, which dropped the Nationals to 9-3 on the season.
Next: Roark Has Rough Time With Marlins
Roark Has Rough Time With Marlins
After a strong outing in his last start against the Braves, Tanner Roark once again had his difficulties figuring out the Marlins’ lineup. In six innings, the right-hander gave up five runs (four earned runs) on seven hits, struck out two, and walked two on 88 pitches (54 strikes).
Out of the gate, it didn’t look like Roark was going to last long in this game, but he was still able to give the Nationals six innings and at least save the bullpen to a degree. Plus, he did throw 16 first pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced.
With that being said, it was the two outs hits that cost him again. In the bottom of the first, Roark had a chance to get out of it by giving up only one run, but Marcell Ozuna delivered a clutch two-out single to put Miami up 3-0. The other two out hit came via a home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the fifth to deep right center. In addition, his balk in the first inning loomed large as the Nats had to play in with Dee Gordon at third because Fernandez was on the mound.
The 29-year-old right-hander has now given up eight runs in ten innings against the Marlins this season. While Miami has a good lineup, that is still something to be concerned about. Plus, if it weren’t for some great plays by Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon in the bottom of the third inning, that 4-0 deficit could easily have been a lot worse.
Next: Nats Miss Chances Against Fernandez
Nats Miss Chances Against Fernandez
Coming into this game, the Nationals were looking to try to have some success against Jose Fernandez. Before last night, Fernandez had a sub one ERA in six starts against Washington. That trend continued last night, but Fernandez did give the Nats some opportunities.
In six innings of work, the Marlins’ ace gave up one run on three hits and struck out nine batters on 103 pitches, but only 64 of those pitches were for strikes and he walked four batters, hit Jayson Werth, and threw two wild pitches.
Even though the Nats got a run in the fifth on Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly to right, the one inning that stands out about last night was the second inning. It was shocking to see Fernandez intentionally walk Danny Espinosa with Werth on second and two outs because he had the cushion of a 3-0 lead.
Roark almost made him pay when he hit a ball hard to left field, but it went foul. But, he ended up drawing a walk to load the bases. In an inning where the Nats could’ve used a run to get some of the momentum back, Fernandez struck out Michael Taylor swinging to end the inning.
If there was other at-bat that stood out in this game, it would be in the top of the first inning when Rendon went around on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt that would’ve two runners on base for Harper right out of the gate. In the end, the Nats offense missed out on a night where Fernandez was good, but had some issues with his command.
Next: Taylor Productive, But Not Clutch
Taylor Has Two Hits, But Not The Big One
With Ben Revere on the disabled list, it has been up to Michael Taylor to try to be that consistent hitter in the leadoff spot. Unfortunately, his great spring numbers have not translated to the regular season as of yet. After last night’s game, Taylor is hitting a mere .178 in his first 11 games.
In last night’s game, he went 2-for-4 with a double in the fifth inning off Fernandez for the team’s first hit and he did draw a walk to start the game. But, the one at-bat that stood out was in the second inning.
Now, Taylor did a good job making the pitcher work, something he hasn’t done this season in the leadoff spot. Last night, he saw 24 pitches, which was the most of any hitter in the Nationals’ lineup. In that second inning, he made Fernandez work, but swung and missed at the fourth consecutive breaking ball from the Marlins’ ace.
So far, Taylor’s .208 on-base percentage is the lowest of any player on the roster. Plus, his .171 on-base percentage is the third lowest of any player leading off an inning, ahead of only Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies (minimum 23 at-bats).
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For the short term, the Nationals will need Taylor to continue that approach of making the pitcher work out of the leadoff spot, even though his double in the fifth inning against Fernandez came on a first pitch breaking ball.
On the basepaths, Taylor was caught stealing trying to take second base in a 5-1 game in the top of the seventh inning. In the end, the Nationals need more productivity out of that leadoff spot until Revere comes back.