Nationals: Five Disappointments From 2016 First Half

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Apr 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Felipe Rivero (73) throws to the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Felipe Rivero (0-3, 5.09 ERA, 1 save)

Down the stretch last season, Rivero was one of those relievers that Matt Williams relied upon. That trend has held true this season as the 25-year-old left-hander has made 41 appearances, which is eight fewer than what he had last season.

Rivero is tied for 11^th in the National League in appearances, but only five off the league lead. Even though Rivero had ERA”s of over three in the first tow months, the opponents batting average was .178 and .182 in April and May respectively.

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Then in June, it all went south. Rivero had a 10.64 ERA in 11 appearances and opponents hit .356. Plus, he still has struggled to get left-handers out (.321, one home run, seven RBI’s) more than right-handers (.177, three home runs, nine RBI’s).

When you look at the Washington Nationals bullpen, Baker has gone to Riveo more often, but has used Oliver Perez in pressure situations to get the key lefties out and Sammy Solis has been a nice surprise. In fact, Rivero’s three appearances so far this month are the second fewest of any reliever (Yusmeiro Petit – 2).

Next: Five 2016 1st Half Surprises

Now, Rivero isn’t the biggest disappointment on this team by any means and the bullpen has been strong as a whole. But, as Rivero will throw in more games in his career this season, it will be interesting to watch how he pitches in the second half of the season. He has electric stuff, but the Nats will want to see more of the Rivero from earlier in the year than the one from June.

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