Washington Nationals: 3 players who disappointed against the Yankees
After being swept mid-week by the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Nationals headed to the Bronx for a weekend slate which appeared to be daunting in its own right. That is, until the Nationals buried the Yankees with six runs in the eighth inning to walk away winners in game one.
With Max Scherzer on the mound the following day, one would believe the Nationals had put themselves in great position to win the series. Even after the Nats blew a ninth inning lead in game two, they neutralized Yankees starter Domingo German in game three and were in prime position to take the series with a game three win.
In the end, they left losers in two of three games, where they just as easily could have swept the Yankees. Today we look at three players who had poor performances during this series.
3 Players who had disappointing performances in the Nationals series against the Yankees.
Brad Hand
There is no elephant in the room, so we’ll just go ahead and put it out there. Brad Hand was awful this weekend. A 14-strikeout gem of an outing by Max Scherzer was wasted when Hand failed to hold the one run lead in the ninth inning of game two. He walked the leadoff hitter, then started the next three hitters he faced with ball one as well. After the Nationals scored a run in the tenth, Hand gave it right back by surrendering a single to Mike Ford. Ford was hitting less than .100 at that point and was trying to give himself up by bunting, though Hand fell behind 3-1 before the base hit.
We questioned the usage of Hand in that game, though manager Davey Martinez must not have. After throwing 29 pitches in blowing the save, Martinez ran Hand out in the ninth inning of game three in a 2-2 tie. Two schools of thought here. Closers have short memories, and need to get back on the horse, or give the guy a rest after throwing 29 pitches the day before, nearly half outside the strike zone. Martinez chose the former. Again, Hand greeted the Yankees with a free pass, this time walking the first two hitters, and the rest is history. A blown save followed by a loss, against a team he has always struggled against.
Josh Bell
Josh Bell hit a home run in the first game. That’s about all he did. Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber aren’t who we thought they were. They are playing like they did a year ago, which caused one to be traded and the other to be non-tendered, but they are not playing like we want them to. At least Schwarber mixes in a single, every now and again.
Sure, Bell had the home run, in what turned out to be a seven run game, and a double in game three, which allowed the Nationals to tie the game with Schwarber’s home run, though he did nothing else.
Update: Now 0-for-11 with 7 strikeouts. And his helmet fell off while chasing that changeup way down and away for the most recent K. https://t.co/AycskVx12D
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 9, 2021
Right now Bell is feast or famine, with a lot more famine. Players are going to make outs. Bell is not making productive outs, however. He is striking out too much, and looking foolish at the plate. He’s hitting .141 with an OPS of .517. In comparison, Ryan Zimmerman is hitting .304 with an OPS of .893.
While manager Davey Martinez says he needs Bell in the lineup for this team to win. Bell being in the lineup is costing this team wins. Time to pencil Zimmerman’s name on the lineup card from here on out. At least until his old body can’t take it anymore.
Josh Harrison
Josh Harrison has been one of the hottest hitters thus far for the Nationals. How majestic was his three run home run in game one against the Yankees? Unfortunately, that is all the offense the speedy second baseman was able to produce.
Harrison finished the series 1-13 with the lone long ball. Hitting in the number two spot in the order he faces a lot of pressure. He either has to drive Trea Turner in, or get on base for Juan Soto and company to drive in. Against the Yankees, he did neither.
In game two, Harrison had a chance to put some runs on the board early against Corey Kluber, when he came to the plate with the bases loaded. He grounded into a fielder’s choice, which didn’t score a run. He finished the extra-inning game 0-5 with three strikeouts.
In the series finale, Turner reached base three times ahead of him. Harrison flew out every time. Having multiple runners on base ahead of Juan Soto is really going to put pressure on opposing pitchers as well as give the Nationals their best scoring opportunities. The opportunities were there against the Yankees, Harrison just couldn’t contribute.
Next. Second guessing Martinez. dark
With Luis Garcia lurking in the minors, Harrison would be well served to keep his production levels up, or face losing his starting job.