Washington Nationals: Injuries continue to mount up

The Washington Nationals succumbed to a sweep at the hand of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and injuries are once again an issue. But it’s not all doom and gloom.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers wrapped up a sweep against the Washington Nationals, the theme of the season continued. Injuries continue to mount up for the Nats, as they lost yet more players.

Ryan Madson was the latest Nationals to hit the disabled list with a sore pectoral muscle. He’s the 12th player on the DL, and almost all of them would have been key contributors to the team.

And the number of injuries is really started to negatively affect the team’s offense. They could only muster up seven runs all series, and that’s never a recipe for success.

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For example, the likes of Mark Reynolds and Michael Taylor are useful players, they should be relied upon as heart of the order hitters. Reynolds hit fourth in this contest, and Taylor has hit as high as fifth.

Hopefully when Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy return, it will put less pressure on other hitters. So unfortunately, the wait for consistent offense will continue.

Juan Soto makes his debut

The talk of the DMV in the build up to the game was all about top prospect Juan Soto being called up. The Nationals officially added him to the active roster early Sunday morning, and made a pinch hitting appearance in the game.

Mike Rizzo revealed that Soto will be playing a lot while he’s up, despite sitting on Sunday. This was probably just a case of not wanting his first major league action to be against a tough leftie in Alex Wood.

He should start at least two of the three games against the San Diego Padres this week. Just make sure to temper expectations for the young phenom. Not every superstar immediately starts performing in their first major league stint.

Bullpen woes show up again

After 6.2 strong innings from starter Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals were within striking distance one run behind. However in the latter innings, the middle relief couldn’t hold down the Dodgers.

First off Wander Suero allowed a two-run home run to Yasiel Puig in the eighth inning to give the Dodgers breathing room. Then Shawn Kelley allowed two more runs in the ninth to put the game completely out of reach.

The Nats now have the second-worst bullpen ERA in the National League, ahead of only the Miami Marlins. And now the only reliever who has an ERA below 2.50 is Sean Doolittle.

They’ll need to add to the bullpen at the trade deadline in order to get where they want to be come October.

Next: Soto promoted to the majors

Now the Washington Nationals host the San Diego Padres for a three-game set. The Nats will need a big bounce back showing to quieten the concerns.

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