Washington Nationals: Takeaways From The Cardinals At Home

A few things to keep in mind after the Washington Nationals won two of three over the St. Louis Cardinals. Remember, a curly “W” is always good.

The Washington Nationals are a lucky team.

Sure, they grabbed two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals this week at home. But the bullpen issues, injuries and bad defense are issues. If the Cards were not struggling, this could have easily gone the other way.

The last six games for Washington have not followed the script. The expectations on this team are heavy and real. To get to October, you must play the season first. Over the course of 162 games, you will get clunkers.

When you win despite five errors, as happened Tuesday, call it luck. Over the course of the regular season, you need some to get through.

The good news is the Nats have questions and concerns and are 5-4. Although not the start fans hoped, they trail the New York Mets by a game and are 4-2 at home. Unexpected, sure, but nothing dire. They remain favorites to win the National League East.

Yes, for those of us watching every game, it is frustrating. We see Dusty Baker make decisions we would not or Anthony Rendon struggle overall and want to scream. Remember, unless you are writing a book it never goes to plan.

So, on this off-day before the Philadelphia Phillies return, let’s break down what went right and wrong for the Nats. It is not as bad as you think; they won two of three, but there are clouds on the horizon.

Whether it storms or blows past is one reason we love this game so much.

PATIENCE AT THE PLATE

When we can parse every action in a game into a set of numbers, there are times we can miss the forest through the trees.

When the Nats make pitchers work, they score runs, when they hack at the first pitch they do not. Wednesday is a perfect example. Cards starter Mike Leake had a bundle of 10- and 11-pitch innings early. Eventually, the Nats chased him after 104-pitches over seven, but Leake walked none, fanned seven and scattered four hits.

When a pitcher is on his game, batters must disrupt the momentum. Sometimes, it is impossible and Max Scherzer can flat out control a game. As accomplished as Leake is, he is not Scherzer. Step out of the box, take away his timing and force him to throw strikes.

You do not need a spreadsheet to tell you that.

Once a pitcher feels comfortable on the mound, they dictate the game. Leake did it with ease and the Nats never recovered.

Ricky Keeler has more on Wednesday’s loss in the post-game show:

RYAN ZIMMERMAN TURNS BACK THE CLOCK

Show of hands, how many of you thought Ryan Zimmerman’s role this year was keeping a bench spot warm? Come on, be honest.

Starting from the second-half of Spring Training, when he stopped grounding out every at-bat until now, he is on fire. Over the last seven games, Zimmerman has three doubles and two homers. Hitting .370 at a 10-for-27 clip, not only is his fifth spot in the lineup deserved, it is essential.

Whatever they found, it works. His launch angle is better. Zimmerman hits to all field. His defense has improved. He sees the ball better than he has in years. Although he does not draw walks, his OPS over the last seven days is 1.097. Those are All-Star numbers.

Watching him at the plate, you sense the joy and excitement that was missing last year. Zimmerman makes hard contact, but he hit lasers right at fielders last fall. This year, he splits gaps. With the injuries at short and the baffling bad start by Rendon, having Zimmerman play well is a bonus.

When his numbers come back to earth, Zimmerman can still be a productive player capable of power and production. This week he scored four times while driving in five.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, watching the Zimmerman of old is refreshing for us and him.