Another poor pitching performance from Austin Voth and another decision which will wait until the next day for Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez.
Washington Nationals pitcher Austin Voth was cruising along through three innings while only surrendering a lone run to the visiting Miami Marlins. Then the fourth inning happend.
All told, Voth only gave up three singles in the inning, but they all came around to score. Along with the batter he walked and the one he plunked as well. When the dust settled, after reliever Javy Guerra allowed all inherited runners to score (with two outs nonetheless) the Nationals found themselves in a seven run hole.
Voth, for the third game in a row, failed to pitch past the fourth inning while seeing his record drop to 0-3 and his ERA rise to 6.65. For the third game in a row he walked as many as he struck out. The free pass he issued with the bases loaded led to the Marlins first run.
Asked if he needs to think about making a change in the rotation (re: Voth), Martinez said: "I'm not going to jump to conclusions tonight."
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 25, 2020
After the game Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters he wasn’t going to do anything rash, like remove Voth from the rotation.
How long are the Nationals going to stay with him? On the bright side he didn’t allow a home run, like the five he’s given up in the previous 18 innings pitched.
The loss dropped the Nationals to four games below .500, yet they are only four games out of first place in the division. With the season almost half way over, the team can not afford to fall behind by a touchdown every time Voth pitches.
What further evidence does Martinez need to see? If he was to remove Voth from the starting rotation, what conclusions would he be jumping to? The fact Voth may not be cut out to be a starting pitcher in the major leagues?
Maybe before jumping to conclusions, Davey needed to see who else he has on the roster who can start every fifth day in place of Voth. The four innings he is giving each time out shouldn’t be hard to replace.
If Austin Voth is a part of the future, sure leave him in there to take his bumps and bruises. At 28, with limited success over parts of three major league seasons, I’m not sure he is a part of the plans, though.
For the Nats to remain competitive this year, a change needs to be made. Pardon me for jumping to a conclusion.