The Washington Nationals dropped the second game of the season against the Mets, losing 11-8. The Nats’ new-look bullpen looked rusty in the late innings.
The Washington Nationals lost game two of their three-game series against the Mets, dropping it 11-8.
The Nats were put in an early 3-0 hole after first-inning defensive mishaps cost the Nats a trio of runs.
The offense provided a spark and got the game back to even at 4-4 in the sixth inning.
In the eighth inning, Trevor Rosenthal, in his first Major League appearance since August 16, 2017, allowed the first four Mets he faced to reach base. He failed to record an out and allowed four earned runs.
Kyle Barraclough entered the game after Rosenthal, and before he threw his first official pitch as a National, he balked, scoring a runner from third base.
The Nats offense loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, but couldn’t get a run across. The Nats rallied late in the ninth, but it was too little too late.
Here are a few takeaways from the game.
New Bullpen, Same Results
The one exception to this is Tony Sipp, who pitched his role to perfection in the seventh inning. His job is to get left-handed hitters out, and he got Brandon Nimmo, Robinson Cano, and Michael Conforto out.
However, Rosenthal’s and Barraclough’s debuts left a lot to be desired.
Rosenthal lit up the radar gun, hitting 100 MPH at times, but his ERA currently sits at “-.–” according to MLB.com.
Barraclough inherited a bad situation, but he made it worse by balking in a runner from third before he even threw a pitch.
Matt Grace allowed one earned run in the ninth inning and Wander Suero allowed two.
If only there were a hall-of-fame caliber right-handed relief pitcher the Nationals could sign to help with this type of problem.
Victor Robles, the Good and the Bad
Victor Robles has arrived, and Nats fans have seen both the good and bad sides of the rookie.
He hit a home run off of Noah Syndergaard in the 3rd inning and finished the day with five total bases.
However, he got picked off of first base in the fifth inning.
In the first inning, it appeared Robles misjudged a fly ball, which ended up hitting off of the outfield wall, scoring the third run of the first inning for New York.
There is no denying Robles’ ridiculous talent. However, with all rookies, mistakes will be made. Stick with him; He’s going to work out the kinks and become a fantastic baseball player.