Put another win in the books for the Nats! A 5-0 shutout over the Mets!
You never know what you will get in a hyped debut with a big prospect pitcher, and in this debut tonight, Lucas Giolito out-pitched Matt Harvey tonight, but also out-pitched his top-prospect peers like Urias and Tallion who debuted this season.
Giolito was throwing free and easy and you could see his stuff on display. Well painted fastballs, a swing and miss change-up and a ‘fall off the table’ curveball. Giolito only needed 45 pitches to get through 4 innings which was extremely pitch efficient as that averaged 11.25 pitches per inning. It was a joy to watch for Nats fans until the night was interrupted by the second rain delay of the night. This game would not end until after midnight in the East.
The 1-0 lead wasn’t a comfortable lead until Bryce Harper hit a 2-run HR into the Nats bullpen to make the score 3-0, and the exclamation point was from Wilson Ramos who hit a booming 2-run double off of the 402 sign in straight-away centerfield.
The Nats played great defense for Giolito, and really all night long. It was a well-played Nats game by all players. Oliver Perez came in with 1 out and bases loaded in a tight jam and struck out the first batter he faced and got the next batter out on a flyout. Here is the video. The official scorer credited Perez with the win.
This game seemed very reminiscent of Jordan Zimmerman‘s debut in rainy weather. Mother Nature has a mind of her own.
Put another #CurlyW in the books! #Nats 5, Mets 0 pic.twitter.com/ucanpSZqhL
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 29, 2016