Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 5-4 Loss To Tigers
Even though Ryan Zimmerman bounced back with two home runs, the Washington Nationals comeback efforts fell short
Yesterday started off with the Washington Nationals officially signing Stephen Strasburg to that seven year contract extension worth $175 million. As the night went on, one of the Nats’ franchise position players, Ryan Zimmerman, bounced back in a big way with two home runs and three RBI’s.
However, the Washington Nationals did not have enough in the end as they fell to the Detroit Tigers by a final score of 5-4. In the end, the Nats had a difficult time keeping Victor Martinez off the bases as he went 4-for-5 with four singles. Plus, Nick Castellanos hit his second home run of the series.
Joe Ross was given the lead twice, but was unable to hold it both times. He went six innings, gave up five runs on eight hits, struck out four, and walked two on 97 pitches (61 strikes). Ross’ command was off at times on his sinker as he only threw 15 first pitch strikes to the 28 batters he faced and had two four-pitch walks.
The Nats had chances to win the game late, but Wilson Ramos was thrown out on a relay at the plate in the eighth and both Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy failed to pick up the clutch hits against Detroit’s closer, Francisco Rodriguez, in the ninth.
Before the highly anticipated matchup between Jordan Zimmermann and Max Scherzer tonight (7:05 p.m ET, MASN), here are my three takeaways from last night’s loss:
Next: Zimmerman Back On Track
Zimmerman Back On Track?
Most of the spotlight has been on Ryan Zimmerman the last couple of days, especially after he left 14 on base in Sunday’s loss to the Cubs. Last night had to feel like a sigh of relief for him when he hit the two home runs against the Tigers.
The first of the two home runs came in the fifth inning. After Bryce Harper worked a walk against Michael Fulmer (who picked up his first Major League win), Zimmerman took a 2-0 fastball and crushed it to left field for a two-run home run for his first homer since April 19 against the Marlins.
Two innings later, the Nats’ first baseman had another good at-bat against reliever Drew VerHagen. He worked the count full, including fouling off a tough breaking ball. Then, on the third 3-2 pitch, he got a 95 mile per hour fastball and hit a line drive over the all in center for his second home run.
Now, the Tigers did implement the same strategy Chicago did over the weekend and walked Harper intentionally in the later innings. Zimmerman had the chance for the ultimate redemption, but he fell short and struck out swinging on a nasty changeup by K-Rod.
Even though he couldn’t get the clutch hit in the ninth, it is definitely a step in the right direction for Zimmerman. I still think the Nats should make the change and put Murphy, who had another multi-hit game, behind Harper. But, at the same time, I don’t mind Baker giving Zimmerman a chance to break out of his slump.
Next: Baker's Two Bad Decisions
Baker’s Two Bad Decisions
Last night, I wrote about how Baker had the managerial edge over Brad Ausmus. While I still think that, Baker made a couple of questionable decisions in last night’s game.
The first one occurred in the sixth inning. As Ross’ command continued to fade, it took Baker a while to warm anyone up in the bullpen. Even though the Nats’ bullpen has been a bit overworked over the last few days, you could tell Ross was starting to tire out. He had Felipe Rivero warming up during the replay of the Gose slide, but he stuck with Ross to face Miguel Cabrera.
In the end, Cabrera made them pay with a pinch-hit single to center to put the Tigers up 5-3. Ross ended up finishing the inning by getting Ian Kinsler to pop up. Ross wasn’t getting hit that hard in the inning and with the bullpen being used a ton, it’s not a horrible decision by Baker, but still brought about some questions.
The big mistake came in the bottom of the eighth. After Wilson Ramos singled to left with one out in a one-run game, Baker left him in to run instead of bringing in someone with more speed, like Michael Taylor. In the end, it cost them as Ramos was thrown out at the plate on a good relay by the Tigers’ defense on a Clint Robinson double.
While Baker made a bad mistake, the one thing I liked was that he admitted it after the game. There will be nights when he makes some interesting choices, but at least he was able to say he screwed up:
Next: Thoughts On Controversial Slide
Thoughts On Controversial Slide In 6th Inning
The one play that stood out about this game occurred in the top of the sixth. The Tigers had the bases loaded with one out in a 3-3 game when Andrew Romine hit a groundball to second. The Nats got the out at second, but Romine beat the throw to first to allow Detroit to take the lead.
Once the play was over, the Washington Nationals decided to challenge and it looked like they would win the challenge since Anthony Gose didn’t touch the base or made an effort to touch the base. However, the call stood and here was the explanation given by the MLB:
Official word from New York on the slide call was that "his actions did not hinder or impede the fielder."
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 11, 2016
Runner must fail to make "bona fide slide" AND "initiate (or attempt to make) contact" with fielder for purpose of breaking up DP to be out.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 11, 2016
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The rule, which is now known as the Chase Utley rule after last year’s NLDS, has been difficult to figure out so far this year. While I don’t think the Nats would’ve turned the double play anyway, it was still obvious that Gose was not going for the base on the slide.
Plus, if you go by what the Nats were saying after the game, it was clear that what they were told early in the season was different than the explanation that Major League Baseball gave them back in spring:
Next: Zimmerman Ends Slump In Loss To Tigers
While it wasn’t the sole reason the Nats lost the game, it still led to Detroit scoring two runs in the sixth rather than an inning-ending double play. It will be interesting to watch this season how the Utley rule is enforced, especially if it plays a factor when it comes time for the postseason.