District On Deck
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Washington Nationals: Bitten by bullpen woes again

By Blake Finney

SAN DIEGO, CA - MAY 9: Howie Kendrick #12 of the Washington Nationals is tagged out by Freddy Galvis #13 of the San Diego Padres as he tries to steal second base during the fourth inning of a baseball game at PETCO Park on May 9, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - MAY 9: Howie Kendrick #12 of the Washington Nationals is tagged out by Freddy Galvis #13 of the San Diego Padres as he tries to steal second base during the fourth inning of a baseball game at PETCO Park on May 9, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Nationals were aiming for a sweep of the San Diego Padres, but bullpen woes once again bit the team in a tied game.

With a tough opponent coming up this weekend, the Washington Nationals were looking to sweep the San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, the Nats bullpen couldn’t hold firm in the late innings.

The culprit this time was Trevor Gott, giving up an intentional walk and two hits that allowed the Padres to edge ahead in the seventh inning. His ERA is now up to a hideous 5.68, and recorded his second loss of the season.

However, he’s not been the only member of the bullpen that’s been far from their best this season. There are five of the eight members who currently own an ERA over four. And after Gott’s loss on Wednesday, the group tied for second in the Nationals League for bullpen losses.

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They are middle of the road in terms of bullpen WHIP, suggesting there’s some bad luck. But much like last season, if this continues to be an issue, Mike Rizzo will go out and rectify it.

Harper gets much needed day-off

Bryce Harper got his first day-off of the season on Wednesday. He had been mired in a hitless 19 AB stretch before Wednesday. Davey Martinez was clearly adamant on seeing him have the whole game off to clear his head.

Martinez let Moises Sierra hit for himself in the ninth inning, and proceeded to strike out to end the game. We’ll see if this was the correct decision in due course, but Harper’s career power numbers against Brad Hand were good.

Hopefully we see him return to his old self in hitter-friendly Chase Field over the weekend. Whether he’s leading off is another matter all together.

Gio grinds through six strong innings

Maybe the Nats manager had a read of our article about letting him go deeper into games, but Gio Gonzalez ground out a gutsy performance. Although it was just a six inning outing, Martinez was willing to let him work through it and throw 110 pitches on the night.

The first couple of innings in particular were far from Gonzalez’s finest pitching of the year. He allowed three walks and two hits in the first two frames, but crucially didn’t allow a run. AJ Ellis and Manny Margot teamed up for the only run the lefty gave up in the fourth inning, but it was another low-scoring start.

He doesn’t allow much hard contact, with only one home run given up all season, and he’s top 10 in SLG allowed in the National League. If he can keep this up, he’ll continue to be a very serviceable third starter for the Nationals behind the big two.

Next: Hellickson a bargain fifth starter

The Washington Nationals now travel to face the Arizona Diamondback in Phoenix, where they look for revenge on them taking two of three back at Nats Park.

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