Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 10-5 Win Vs. White Sox
Check out our three takeaways from last night’s 10-5 Washington Nationals win over the White Sox.
Last night, the Washington Nationals (35-23) faced an early deficit as they trailed 5-2 after the second inning against the Chicago White Sox (29-29). However, the offense for the second straight game found a way to mount a comeback as they scored eight unanswered runs to win the game, 10-5.
The key for the Nats’ offense last night was to remain patient against Latos. Despite facing that early deficit, the offense drew four walks against the White Sox’ right-hander over 4.1 innings. One stat that stood out was the patience of leadoff hitter Ben Revere, who saw 33 pitches in the five at-bats he had in the game (two walks).
Out of the 12 hits that the Washington Nationals had last night, six of them went for extra-bases, including five doubles and a home run by Anthony Rendon. The double that might have had the most importance was Bryce Harper’s two-run double in the fifth inning against Dan Jennings, which gave the Nats a 6-5 lead.
Even though Dusty Baker had to ask a lot out of his bullpen last night because of a short outing from Joe Ross, Blake Treinen threw three shutout innings and kept the Nats in front despite throwing 66 pitches. Due to the Mets being swept yesterday in a doubleheader by the Pirates, the Nats enter today with a 3.5 game lead in the NL East.
Before Max Scherzer takes on James Shields in the second game of this three game series tonight (8:10 p.m ET, MASN2), here are my takeaways from last night’s 10-5 win:
Next: Treinen Takes The Win
Treinen Takes The Win
With the Washington Nationals not getting much length from their starters the last two days (Tanner Roark and Joe Ross), the Nats needed someone in the bullpen to give them length and keep them in the game. That role last night went to Blake Treinen, who did a good job and picked up the win for it.
Treinen went three innings, gave up no runs on two hits, walked three, and struck out one on 66 pitches (39 strikes) to pick up his fourth win of the season. The right-hander was part of a bullpen last night that didn’t give up a run in the five innings they pitched between Treinen, Oliver Perez, and Yusmeiro Petit.
Throughout this season, the role has changed for the 27-year-old right-hander. Treinen went from being one of the late inning relievers to being one of the pitchers who does his job in the middle innings. Regardless of the role, Treinen has pitched well as he has not given up a run since May 13 against the Marlins (ten appearances.
With Treinen throwing a total of 95 pitches in the last four days, you wonder if the Nats would possibly send him down to get a fresh arm in the bullpen. One possibility could be Matt Belisle, who has been rehabbing from his calf injury at Potomac and Harrisburg. Regardless of what happens, Treinen deserves credit for getting the job done and picking up the victory last night against the White Sox.
Next: Rendon Keeps Nats In Ball Game
Rendon Keeps Nats In Ballgame
After a slow start to his 2016 season, Anthony Rendon has been productive since moving down from the number two spot in the batting order. Last night, he got the Nats back in the game after Ross put them in an early hole.
Rendon’s great night started in the second inning. With two on and one out, he made Mat Latos pay for back-to-back walks by doubling into right field to drive in Daniel Murphy for the Washington Nationals first run. One inning later, Rendon lined a two-run homer to left center to cut the deficit to 5-4.
Eventually, the Nats would take the lead with two runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to break the game open. But, it was Rendon who got them back in the game. The third baseman went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI’s in last night’s win.
This season, Rendon has 38 runs scored, which is the most of any player on the Nats and the eighth most of any player in the National League. Over his last 30 games, he is hitting .337 with four home runs and 15 RBI’s. His 15 RBI’s are third on the team in that span behind Wilson Ramos (19) and Murphy (20).
Even though Rendon got off to that slow start, he has been able to bounce back in a big way to help out this lineup even if it is out of the seventh spot in the batting order. Plus, he has still stayed patient in the bottom of the order. His ten walks out of the sixth spot are tied for the fourth most in the National League.
Next: Ross Shows Rare Lack Of Command
Ross Shows Rare Lack Of Command
The Washington Nationals did get the win last night, but the one negative that stood out about this game was the lack of command from Ross. The 23-year-old right-hander went just four innings, gave up five runs on four hits, struck out five, and walked four in a no-decision.
His four walks were a season high and the most he’s had in a start since September 1, 2015 against the St. Louis Cardinals (six). While Ross did throw 14 first-pitch strikes to the 21 batters that he faced, the pinpoint command he had on his sinker wasn’t there.
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According to Brooks Baseball, only 26 of the 47 sinkers that he threw went for strikes. His worst inning by far was in the first inning when he needed 39 pitches (19 strikes). Ross walked the first two batters before allowing a RBI single to Jose Abreu. Later in the inning, he walked J.B. Shuck with the bases loaded to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead.
One inning later, Ross got behind in the count on Todd Frazier and the White Sox third baseman made him pay. Frazier crushed a 3-0 sinker to dead center field for a two-run homer to put the White Sox up 5-2.
Next: Recap: Offense Explodes as Nats Top White Sox
While Ross should get some credit for keeping the damage at five runs, it was still his worst start of the season by far. Coming into last night, Ross had only 11 walks in six road outings. His ERA away from Nats Park went up from 1.54 to 2.54. Despite last night’s bad outing, I wouldn’t push the panic button on Ross because he was one of the team’s most consistent starters this year.