3 at-bats which make the Washington Nationals hard to watch
A loss avoided. It would have been the sixth in a row and 62nd of the season. A shutout avoided. It would have been the eighth time this year the Washington Nationals have failed to plate any runs in a game. Another dreadful offensive performance. Well, for eight innings at least. Thankfully, the team woke up in the ninth inning to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
While Josiah Gray did all he could to keep the Nats in the game, the Nats offense just couldn’t get anything started against the gutsy and reliable veteran pitcher they were facing. Charlie Morton is a good pitcher and is having a great season. Nationals hitters made it seem like Uncle Charlie should be getting a Cy Young Award for his efforts.
Three hits is all the Nationals could muster against Morton. They did have multiple opportunities to score. They bungled those. I’ve watched a lot of baseball in my day. I’ve seen a lot of bad baseball as well. The Nationals are truly making it hard to keep watching this season.
In the latest game against the Atlanta Braves, three Nationals at-bats stood out as being quite possibly the worst in a long time.
First at-bat
After going down 1-2-3 in the first inning, the Nationals began the second stanza with a Josh Bell double. The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the inning prior and here was the Nationals chance to make things even.
The hitter was Gerardo Parra and he really didn’t need to drive the run in himself. He just needed to have a productive out and get Bell to third base.
Parra looked at strike one, no problem. He then waved at back-to-back curve balls, making a quick return to the dugout. Big problem. Bell didn’t advance. Parra looked ridiculous flailing at a pitch Charlie Morton is well-known for. Does that make it easy to hit? Well, no, but a hitter has to put the ball in play there and move the runner around.
The next hitter, Carter Kieboom, grounded out to second, which would have scored Bell from third had he been there.
Second at-bat
Trailing 2-0 in the top of the sixth inning, the Nationals hadn’t put too many runners on base to that point. However, a great at-bat by Riley Adams led to a walk, and pinch hitter Juan Soto drew a walk of his own. Two on-no out.
The hitter was Andrew Stevenson. Playing for one run kills a rally. I would have played for one run here. If Stevenson can bunt the runners into scoring position, the Nationals have two chances to score runs with two of their better hitters coming up. Even if they can’t get a hit, a productive out scores the runner from third making it a one run game. The Nationals have three innings to produce a solo run, and one swing of the bat can do that.
Stevenson looked at strike-one, no problem. Morton had walked the previous two hitters, so Stevenson needs to be sure Chuck can still find the zone. Stevenson then flails at back-to-back curve balls, making a quick return to the dugout. Big problem. The runners do not advance, and Morton is now a ground ball double play from getting off the hook.
Pressure has to be put on Morton here. From this point in the game he had yet to throw a pitch with a runner on third base. Stevenson is fast and a hard man to double up himself. If he could have put the ball in play here, even grounding into a fielder’s choice is better than a strikeout.
Third at-bat
With Stevenson making a u-turn back to the dugout, Alcides Escobar came to the plate and lined a single to the outfield. Too sharply hit to score Adams from second base, the Nationals now have the bases loaded with one out. A great scenario. A soft single to the outfield should score two, or a deep flyout will at least score one.
The hitter was Yadiel Hernandez, bringing a nine-game hitting streak into the game.
Hernandez looked at strike-one, no problem. The pitch was on the outside corner and Hernandez would have been hard pressed to do anything with that pitch anyway. He then awkwardly swung and missed back-to-back curve balls, making a quick return to the dugout.
This was just the second out of the inning, but by this point everyone already knew the next hitter was not going to get the runs in regardless of who it was. Josh Bell struck out.
Three key at-bats. Nine pitches seen. All strikes. Three strikeouts where Nationals hitters failed to put the bat on the ball. Failed to even foul off a pitch.
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The Nationals have stranded runners all year. They have been pitiful all season with the bases loaded. And they were doing this with better hitters than these three. I should have been expecting the outcome. I was not. I was hopeful. One thing is for sure. This team is getting harder and harder to watch.