Nationals: Nats Excel at All Three Facets of the Game in Win Over Mets
Last night, the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 7-1 to maintain their grasp on first place in the National League East. What are the biggest takeaways from the Wednesday evening nightcap?
At the one-quarter mark, the Nats are the class of the NL East and sport the second lowest team ERA (2.90) in baseball. They’ve also scored the twelfth fewest runs in the majors (4.2 per game) and only have three starters currently hitting above .239.
The team exploded for seven runs in Game 2 of their first series with the division rival Mets, drawing eleven walks in addition to eight hits. Every starter other than Jose Lobaton reached base at least once, and Jayson Werth led the way with three runs scored.
Gio Gonzalez (3-1, 1.86 ERA) continued his excellent start to the season with another effective performance. He allowed only one run on five hits, a walk, and five strikeouts in six and a third innings. The bullpen was able to smoothly carry the team through the ninth without any mishaps, extending the ‘pen’s scoreless inning streak to 10.1.
Bartolo Colon (3-3, 3.75) made the start for New York, taking the loss after giving up three runs on five hits, five walks, and four strikeouts in four and two thirds. Offensively, Yoenis Cespedes led the way for the home team. He smacked his 13th home run of the year to tie Nolan Arenado for the Major League-lead.
With the season fully underway, the excuse, “it’s still early,” has finally run its course. Over the next few weeks, it will become apparent which teams are really contenders and which teams are just pretenders. What stood out about the Nats’ 7-1 win yesterday? And how is that reflective of how they’ve fared thus far? Read on to find out.
Next: Switching It Up
Lineup Switch Paying Early Dividends
While the team has been leaning heavily on the successes of the pitching staff and bats of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy, the rest of the lineup came through Wednesday in exciting fashion. Manager Dusty Baker swapped Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon in the order prior to Tuesday’s contest, testing the players’ comfort level in new spots after their disappointing starts to the season.
The early returns for the lineup switch are encouraging. Werth reached base five times yesterday, drawing three walks and scoring three times. He swiped his first base of the season and did not record an out. Werth expressed his thoughts on the switch, explaining how he felt more involved in the No. 2 spot.
“Maybe it’s Bryce hitting behind me,” Werth said. “… When the pitcher releases the ball, you try not to think. As far as that goes, I think pitch to pitch, regardless if you hit second or sixth or whatever, it shouldn’t be that much different. I feel like I’ve been in the flow of the game again, and it’s been a different feel, so it’s been good.” (h/t Bill Ladson, MLB.com)
On the other end of the switch, Anthony Rendon had quite the day as well. He went 2-3 with two RBIs, a run scored, and two walks. Rendon was expected to be an anchor at the top of the order, setting the table for Bryce Harper. Instead, he’s struggled mightily and has seemingly lost his power stroke from 2014. However, there is no doubt that the talent is still there, and a drop in the lineup may be all Rendon needs to regain his form.
Next: Dominance Out of the 'Pen
Bullpen Has Been Better Than Advertised
Through 40 games this season, the Nats’ bullpen has a staggering 2.77 ERA, second only to the Mets in the National League. When Mike Rizzo blew up the bullpen in the offseason, bringing in arms Shawn Kelley, Oliver Perez, and Yusmeiro Petit, he was hoping a set of fresh faces could fix what was probably the most glaring issue on the team in 2015.
So far, that move has proved to exceed any and all expectations. Kelley has yet to allow a run in eighteen appearances. Perez is holding lefties to an insane .050/.217/.053 slash line. Petit has embraced the long reliever role, sporting a 1.71 ERA in a bullpen-leading 21 innings.
Holdovers Felipe Rivero and Blake Treinen might not have sparkling ERAs, but Rivero has an 11.0 K/9 and Treinen has stranded 85.1 percent of inherited runners. Matt Belisle pitched well prior to his trip to the Disabled List, and Sammy Solis has filled in admirably since. And in the back-end of the ‘pen, closer Jonathan Papelbon has converted eleven saves, good for seventh in the MLB.
While it was certainly expected that this group would be at least a little bit better coming into the season, not many could have realistically expected this kind of success. On paper, not many names other than Papelbon stand out. Yet here they are, sitting at the one-quarter mark with better numbers than the Royals, Yankees, and Pirates.
Can they sustain this level of performance over the course of 162 games? Only time will tell, but for now, the Nats are riding it out for as long as they can.
Next: Solid Glovework
Nats Have Put on a Show Defensively
Between the success of the pitching staff and underwhelming effort by the offense, appreciation of the Nationals’ stellar defense often gets lost in the mix. The team is tied for the fewest in the majors with only 15 errors so far this season. Their .990 fielding percentage is the best baseball has to offer, a big step forward from their 13th ranked .985 fielding percentage a year ago.
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The team leader in errors is Daniel Murphy, with four. To put that in perspective, Ian Desmond had eight in his first 12 games last season. Danny Espinosa settled down after a few early miscues and has proved his worth with stellar defensive efforts with the glove. Overall, the duo up the middle of Espinosa and Murphy has been able turn the double play effectively while providing sound defense that allows pitchers to get comfortable on the mound.
Redon has settled in to his natural position of third base after two years of bouncing around the infield. Ryan Zimmerman is now two years into his switch to first base from the hot corner, and he’s been perfect so far in 2016. It would be a surprise to no one if he were in consideration for a Gold Glove by the end of the year.
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Wilson Ramos is still throwing out runners above league average, and has apparently figured out how to catch the ball on relays from the outfield, an aspect of his game that the Buffalo has struggled with over the years. He has plenty of incentive to have a good showing this year, as he will enter free agency as top-ranked catcher thanks to Francisco Cervelli’s three-year extension with Pittsburgh.
Surprisingly, the Nats’ outfield has only put together four outfield assists, but a major lurking factor is baserunners’ fear of Harper and Taylor’s arms. Word has traveled about their abilities to gun down baserunners trying to get the extra base, causing most players to opt not to test them.
Next Up: The Nats wrap up their three-game set in New York with an exciting pitching matchup that has been anticipated for weeks. The unbeaten Stephen Strasburg (6-0, 2.95) will face a struggling Matt Harvey (3-5, 4.93) to see which team will take the first series between the two division rivals. First pitch is slated for 7:10 p.m. ET on MLB Network and MASN.