Washington Nationals Game Recap #38 - Pitching Can't Cover Offensive Woes

The Nationals dropped the first game to the Mets on Friday night by a score of 3 to 2. On a night the offense really struggled, the pitching needed to be perfect in order to win and understandably so, was not. The Mets scored 3 runs in the 6th inning and that was all they needed to secure the victory.

MacKenzie Gore got the start for the Nationals and although he did not allow a single run, he was only able to last 4 innings due to a high pitch count. Gore allowed 5 hits and 2 walks in his 4 innings of work and only struck out 3 batters. It was not a poor performance from Gore, but certainly not what the Nationals needed either as they had to turn to the bullpen in the 5th inning.

Andres Machado took over and got through a clean 5th inning, but allowed back to back hits in the 6th. Carl Edwards Jr. was then selected to relieve Machado, and Edwards went walk, to load the bases, and then single to clear the bases on a full count with the runners moving. Edwards was credited with a blown save, his second of the season.

Typically if you only allow 3 runs to score, you generally have a good chance to win. The Nationals offense, however, would prove that wrong as they really had little to no life most of the game despite drawing 6 walks. Joey Meneses singled home Luis Garcia in the 1st inning and Alex Call scored on an error in the 5th inning. Otherwise, the Nationals had nothing going on as they were only 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. They only had 4 hits on the day, 2 of which came from Alex Call.

The bit of a silver lining, perhaps one of the only good parts of the game for the Nationals, was Jake Alu. After struggling in his MLB debut earlier in the week going 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts, Alu notched his first MLB hit in the 2nd inning, followed by his first MLB stolen base. He also added a very impressive diving catch in the 5th inning to rob Jeff McNeil of extra bases.

The Nationals will get another shot at the Mets on Saturday at 4:05p, weather permitting. Trevor Williams will take the mound for the Nationals looking for redemption against his former team after a rough outing last time around against the Mets. The Mets will send out lefty Joey Lucchesi against the Nationals, who went 5.1 innings allowing 3 runs against the Nationals back on April 27, which was one of the more wild games for the Nationals this season.