Nationals Win Both Ends of Wild Doubleheader in Pittsburgh; Improve to 64-78

Yesterday afternoon, the Washington Nationals took to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the second and third games of a four-game September set. DJ Herz took the ball in the day game, chasing a bounceback performance after getting knocked around a little bit against the Cubs to end August. Bounce back he did, as Herz went on to complete 5 no-hit innings on 87 pitches, striking out 5 and walking three in the process. Opposing starter Luis L. Ortiz was less sharp, finishing a 100-pitch outing in the 6th with four runs allowed (one unearned), including a second-inning bomb by Dylan Crews--the third of his young career; and well-timed offense for Luis García Jr., who came across the plate both times he reached despite twice grounding into a double play.

Davey Martinez handed the ball to lefty Robert Garcia, who recorded five more outs without a hit, before giving up a ground ball single to Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales. Relieving Garcia, Jacob Barnes immediately gave up a towering two-run blast to pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez. Derek Law pitched a scoreless 8th, and though the Pirates would get one more on another Nick Gonzales single off Kyle Finnegan in the 9th, Finnegan induced a game-ending double play from Pirates right fielder Bryan De La Cruz to lock up game one.

This is my first article at District on Deck, and I'd like to use it to introduce a new concept I've been doing on my own time for the last two seasons. It's a condensed box score, focusing on key player performances and win probability swings. I'd love to hear what you, the readers, think, as I test this out. If it's confusing at first, don't worry: you'll get the hang of it soon enough.

(63-78) WSH 5-3 PIT (66-75)
---GAME 1---
---NO-HITTER THRU 6.2 IP---
WSH 2B Luis García Jr. 1 for 3, BB, 2 GIDP, 2B (25), 2 R
WSH RF Dylan Crews 2 for 3, BB, 2B (3), HR (3), 2 SB (5), 2 RBI, 2 R

PIT 2B Nick Gonzales 2 for 4, RBI, R, K
PIT PH-1B Rowdy Tellez 1 for 1, BB, HR (13), 2 RBI
PIT RF Bryan De La Cruz 0 for 4, GIDP, 2 K -- -40.5% WPA

WSH SP DJ Herz 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K
WSH RP Robert Garcia SD (14) 1.2 IP, H, ER, K
WSH RP Jacob Barnes MD (12) 0.1 IP, H, ER, HR -- Scored 1 inherited
WSH RP Derek Law SD (17) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K

PIT SP Luis L. Ortiz 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R/3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR, HBP (9), PCV (3)

For reference--"SD" = Shutdown, a Fangraphs-created metric defined by a relief appearance with +6.0% WPA or greater; a leverage-based alternative to saves and holds. "MD" = Meltdown, which functions inversely; any relief appearance with a -6.0% WPA or lower. "PCV" is short for Pitch Clock Violation.

Game 2 was a battle of the Mitches, with Mitchell Parker on for the Nationals and Mitch Keller for the Pirates. The Nationals played small ball to score a run in the third, and a Keibert Ruiz double and Dylan Crews sac fly yielded a second run in the fourth, but beyond that the offense struggled to find an answer to Keller, who recorded quality start number 14 with eight strikeouts in six innings on 91 pitches.

Parker wasn't quite so fortunate, as early traffic quickly put him in a 3-0 deficit after the second inning. He walked four batters in a start for just the second time (June 1), and was forced out of the game after continual hard contact by the Pittsburgh lineup got him just 10 outs on 78 pitches. Jose A. Ferrer allowed an inherited runner to score, extending the Pittsburgh lead to 2, but Andrés Chaparro cranked a seventh-inning two-run homer off reliever Ryan Borucki to left-center for his fourth career bomb to tie the game.

Manager Davey Martinez turned to Jacob Barnes for the second time, but poor defense by the Nationals--a passed ball by Drew Millas after a leadoff walk, plus CJ Abrams failing to put out pinch runner Bryan De La Cruz after a Joey Bart ground ball had De La Cruz stranded between second and third--yielded four baserunners, with two ultimately scoring to put Pittsburgh ahead.

The Nationals found life in the 9th inning, as with two outs, James Wood smashed a ground ball to the opposite field (imagine that) that scored Drew Millas from second and cut the deficit to one. Chaparro followed up with one of his own off a 102 MPH Aroldis Chapman heater, and Davey turned to Ildemaro Vargas to get the job done. On a full count, with the runners in motion, Vargas threw his bat at a 99 MPH four-seamer breaking away from the plate and flipped it into right field, where Connor Joe slid but was unable to come up with the ball. Wood and pinch runner Jacob Young both scored, and Kyle Finnegan, pitching for the second time that day, went 1-2-3 on 19 pitches with two strikeouts to wrap up a scintillating day of Nationals baseball.

One of the highlights of the day was James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Drew Millas combining on a rocket outfield assist to gun down Pittsburgh second baseman Alika Williams trying to score from first on an Isiah Kiner-Falefa double in Game 2. Abrams showed off the arm and aired out an excellent throw to cut the runner down.

Once again, here's the condensed box score for Game 2:
(64-78) WSH 8-6 PIT (66-76)
---GAME 2---
WSH LF James Wood 2 for 5, SB (12), RBI, R, 2 K, OFA (4)
WSH 1B Andrés Chaparro 3 for 5, Game-tying HR (4) in 7th, 3 RBI, 2 K -- +35% WPA
WSH PH-2B Ildemaro Vargas 1 for 1, Leapfrog 2B (16) in 9th, 2 RBI, R -- +67.3% WPA
WSH DH Keibert Ruiz 3 for 5, 2 2B (17), SB (2), RBI, R, K
WSH C Drew Millas 2 for 3, BB, SB (3), 3 R, PB (1)

PIT SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa 3 for 4, BB, 2B (13), CS (2), RBI, 2 R
PIT CF Oneil Cruz 2 for 4, SF, 2B (33), RBI, R, K
PIT 3B Jared Triolo 2 for 5, 2 RBI
PIT C Yasmani Grandal 1 for 2, 2 BB, 2B (10), R, K
PIT 2B Alika Williams 1 for 2, BB, 2B (3), RBI, K

WSH SP Mitchell Parker 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, WP (7)
WSH RP Derek Law SD (18) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
WSH RP Jacob Barnes MD (13) 0.1 IP, H, 2 ER, BB, K
WSH CL Kyle Finnegan SD (29) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K

PIT SP Mitch Keller QS (14) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 8 K, HBP (14)
PIT RP Ryan Borucki MD (2) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K, HR
PIT RP Dennis Santana SD (14) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
PIT RP Aroldis Chapman MD (11) 0.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, BB, 2 K, BK (1) -- -83.6% WPA

Chaparro and Vargas combined for over 100% of total win probability in Game 2 with two huge hits that came at just the perfect moments.

The Nationals play again this afternoon at 1:35 PM Eastern time, looking to wrap up this four-game set in Pittsburgh with a series win. The scheduled matchup is LHP Patrick Corbin (5.91 ERA in last 7 starts) vs. RHP Jared Jones (8 ER in 10.1 IP since returning from IL on August 27).