The Washington Nationals had an ugly blown save in the 7th inning but then tagged a blown save of their own on the Cleveland Guardians bullpen as the Nats won a 10-9 thriller with Kyle Finnegan‘s 100th career Save.
The bottom of the order came through for the Nats with Dylan Crews, Jose Tena, and Jacob Young all driving in key runs. With 10 runs scored, James Wood drove in two with a huge home run to take the first Nats’ lead in the game, and others driving in a run were Alex Call, Keibert Ruiz, and Nathaniel Lowe.
We will see how manager Dave Martinez puts together a bullpen in the second game of this doubleheader.
“I would really love for him to get back on that mound again as soon as possible. If we take too much time off, then we’re back to square one.”
— manager Dave Martinez said on the rehab of Cade Cavalli
You can see the recent bullpen usage here:
Here are your Nats’ WAR leaders with MacKenzie Gore followed by James Wood, CJ Abrams and Mitchell Parker.. On the negative side, Josh Bell has fallen to a -0.7 at this point.
On defense, the stats are starting to give you an idea of what this defense is all about. Paul DeJong is your OAA leader , and Luis Garcia Jr. has slumped to a -4.0 already — and with CJ Abrams, they combine for -6.0 OAA. Another issue that we have discussed is the positioning of Nathaniel Lowe at first base as he is too often out of position to make a play — and OAA has his chance at success at only 59 percent which must improve.
These are your stats leaders on BBRef. There are certainly some surprises on there — good and not so good — but the gap is widening.
“It’s not easy, but looking back, just be confident. Throw stuff with confidence and know that how you got here is what got you here. Don’t stray away from that, and just be confident that your stuff is good enough to play here.”
— said Zach Brzykcy who was called up for the doubleheader as the 27th player
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.18and 19th best in MLB. The reliever’s ERA sits at a 6.88 and is no longer the worst in MLB. The Angels now hold that distinction of dishonor.
Here is how the starters rank by ERA:
No. 5 Starter: Trevor Williams 5.86
No. 4 Starter: Michael Soroka 7.20
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 3.48
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 3.94
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.33
Cleveland Guardians vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:10 pm EDT
TV: MASN2
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app; In Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 177 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
