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Washington Nationals: Good, bad, and ugly from Cardinals series

By James Simmons

Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Nationals Park on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Nationals Park on April 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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After 12 scoreless innings for the Nationals, Joe Ross was lit up by the Cardinals.
Joe Ross #41 of the Washington Nationals sits in the dugout after a pitching change during the Spring Training game against the New York Mets at The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches on March 13, 2021 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /

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

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