The Washington Nationals are in a dark place in team history and trying to avoid their first 12-game losing streak since the 2008 season. Credit to the Rockies for some exceptional defense and making some Nats’ hitters look bad. How will manager Dave Martinez counter today? The same lineup as yesterday with the struggling Keibert Ruiz catching a day game after a night game. Ruiz is batting at a .598 OPS on the season after a promising start in April.
Yesterday’s 3-1 loss just highlighted the difference in defense. The Nats loaded the bases and Brady House scalded a liner at 101.3 mph that Orlando Arcia ranged for — and caught the ball with an xBA of .610. Take that play and contrast it with the 8th inning leadoff triple by the Rockies. That ball had a catch probability of 80 percent as right-fielder Daylen Lile had 3.9 seconds to reach the ball and 53.1 feet to travel. Not only did he not get there — he unwisely dove for it instead of playing it into a single instead of a triple. That scored the Rockies second run of the game. Bad defense that started with a circular route instead of a linear route that would have allowed him to catch it without a dive. Defense matters and the Rockies time and again made even the tough plays.
“If he doesn’t feel like he can catch it, I think you just pull up and keep him to a single. I think he thought he had it. What I saw, his route wasn’t direct. But if he doesn’t think he can catch it in that situation, just try and keep the ball in front, and we’ll get the next guy.”
— manager Dave Martinez said after yesterday’s game
That wasn’t the only rookie mistake. House had a tag-up opportunity with no outs as he had just stolen second base. He went halfway as Brenton Doyle caught a ball with his back to the infield. If House gets to third base — he might score after that on a productive out.
The little things matter, and time and again the Nationals didn’t make plays, chased pitches, and fouled off balls they should have clobbered. House was still the star of the game along with starting pitcher Mitchell Parker who went 6.0 innings, only allowing one run via a home run.
Here is the bullpen usage:
Here are your Nats’ WAR leaders with James Wood at +3.1 and MacKenzie Gore at +2.7 followed by CJ Abrams.
On defense, the stats are clear as to what his defense is all about. Jacob Young is the team’s OAA leader and James Wood got to a 1.0 on his OAA, and that is a good sign from where he had been early in the season. One of the newest Nats, Daylen Lile, is already at a -3.0 OAA.
Luis Garcia Jr. has slumped this season defensively to a -7.0 already — and with CJ Abrams, they combine for -13.0 OAA. That is the worst middle infield in baseball.
Another defensive 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 64 percent which must improve. His OAA is at 0.0 now. With as little as Amed Rosario has played on defense, he is at -7.0 OAA this season and the worst on the team. Per Statcast, his defense has cost the Nationals 5-runs. Is his offense good enough to make up that deficit if he plays the field? Keibert Ruiz, per Statcast, has a -7.0 OAA also. The Nationals were supposed to be better on defense. That clearly isn’t the case.
These are your stats leaders on BBRef. There are certainly some surprises on there — good and not so good.
“We fell short again because we just couldn’t drive in a run, but the at-bats were crisp. House hit a ball 107 mph; the guy caught the ball behind him. That was a big play. Bell hit a couple balls hard and nothing to show for it, then hit a 14-hopper and got a base hit. Just one of them days. I want these guys to understand to keep having at-bats like that, they’ll fall in.”
— Martinez said after yesterday’s game
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.38 and 24th best in MLB. You might be surprised at the team just ahead of the Nationals in the rankings. The reliever’s ERA sits at a 5.90 and now only the second worst in baseball in ERA.
Here is how the starters rank by ERA:
No. 5 Starter: Trevor Williams 5.71
No. 4 Starter: Michael Soroka 5.06
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 4.59
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.23
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 2.89
Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 1:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN
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):
- CJ Abrams SS LH
- James Wood DH LH
- Luis Garcia Jr. 2B LH
- Nathaniel Lowe 1B LH
- Brady House 3B RH
- Josh Bell DH SH
- Daylen Lile RF LH
- Keibert Ruiz C SH
- Jacob Young CF RH
