Washington Nationals: Good, bad, and ugly from Cardinals series
Sitting with a record of 5-8 after splitting a four game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Washington Nationals were reeling a little after injuries again altered the focus of the team. The bullpen was down Luis Avilan for the year, and Wander Suero for at least ten days, while the rotation took a hit with $245M man Stephen Strasburg being sidelined as well.
Coming to town were the St. Louis Cardinals, a team the Nationals had taken two of three games from on the road, earlier in the season. The series had its ups and downs, though ended with the Nationals winning back to back, one-run games, after being on the wrong end of a blowout in the opener.
The good, bad, and ugly from the Washington Nationals three games series with the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
The Good
Patrick Corbin, who has struggled mightily on the year, seemed to right the ship with six solid innings in his start. Max Scherzer continued his dominance on the hill and was finally rewarded with a win for his stat line. For a team who is depending on their starting rotation to be effective, having the big money guys keep the team in the games they pitch, is imperative.
Josh Bell entered the series hitting a cool .100. That’s not good. He was able to get a hit in each game and lift the batting average to .161. Still bad. Yes, it is, though he has to start somewhere. Stringing hits together will only get him back in the hitting groove and help him find his power stroke. He jacked his first bomb in a Nationals uniform this series as well.
The Daniel Hudson/Brad Hand duo may turn into be the modern day Clipp and Save, Tyler Clippard/Matt Capps combo. While Hudson had to wriggle off the hook in the series finale, the two were solid in back to back performances.
Let’s hope Hernan Perez doesn’t pitch often. His second inning of the year was much like his first, scoreless.
The Bad
Tanner Rainey struck out the side in the rubber game and looked dominant. In Game 2 he gave up two runs and failed to hold the lead. With the eighth and ninth innings spoken for, Rainey has been given ample opportunity to lock down the seventh inning. He carries an 8.53 ERA on the year and is in danger or losing his high leverage innings.
Just as Josh Bell is getting on track, Kyle Schwarber is slumping. He finished the series 0-10 with seven strikeouts. While we know Schwarbes is a streaky hitter who either hits bombs or doesn’t hit at all, a single here or there wouldn’t hurt. Heck, even a productive out would be beneficial. He’s never hit for a great average, but is in danger of falling below the Mendoza Line.
Getting the shut down inning. We spoke about this in the Dodgers series as well. The Nationals score some runs, and immediately give some up the following inning. In Game 1, the Nats clawed their way back to make it 6-2 after four innings, then promptly gave up five runs in the top of the fifth. In Game 2, Washington took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. They gave up two runs in the top of the seventh. Thankfully Scherzer was able to hang zeroes after the Nats pushed across a run for him in the finale.
The Ugly
Yikes, Joe Ross! As our buddy Will Ferrell would say, “that escalated quickly.” After running his scoreless streak to 12 innings, Paul DeJong would have no more. Then DeJong came back for seconds and ended the Ross performance with a grand slam. The final tally for Ross was surrendering ten earned runs. After not having an ERA for his first two starts, he left his third with a 5.87 mark.
In Game 1, the Nationals trailed 11-5 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. With nine outs left, the team was very capable of chipping away and making things more interesting. The Nats put the first two runners on base (in scoring position to boot) with their 3-4-5 hitters due up. Worst case scenario finds them putting two runs on the board, right? Then Bell struck out. Then Schwarber struck out. Then Josh Harrison flew out. Nothing. The game was effectively over at that point.
In Game 2 in a scoreless matchup, the Nationals put the first two runners on base for Trea Turner. He promptly grounded into a double play. In Game 3, with the Nationals leading 1-0 Turner again grounded into a double play, this time ending the third inning. Turner now leads the team with three GIDP on the young season. For a speedster who is supposed to hit the ball on the ground and beat it out (well, not really, he leads the team in home runs with four), Turner has to keep innings going, not kill them.
Josh Soto to the Injured List. Enough said.
Next. Josh Bell needs to find hitting stroke. dark