The Washington Nationals struck out 19 times against Framber Valdez and a host of Astros’ relievers tonight. The offense didn’t do much, but they did just enough to supplement a tremendous performance by the pitching staff tonight. And in the end, two key hits were enough for a 2-1 Nats’ win.
“I don’t know how we got there — but we got the W. … We did the little things better than they did.”
— Interim-manager Miguel Cairo on winning while striking out 19 times in a game
Miguel Cairo and Riley Adams must have read my postgame from yesterday. Cairo showed some savvy tonight by giving the struggling James Wood the night off against the elite lefty. Adams on the other hand must have took some exception to my comments on his season, as he turned in a two-hit night that included the game-winning solo home run in the seventh inning.
The first four and a half innings went by without any action on the scoreboard, in fact, Brad Lord didn’t allow a baserunner until the bottom of the fifth tonight in just his second start since leaving the bullpen. Unfortunately, that two-out walk in the fifth was followed by an RBI double by Mauricio Dubon that put the Astros ahead 1-0.
The Nats’ offense struck back immediately in the top half of the sixth, finally getting to a dominant Valdez with a two-out RBI double of their own. Nathaniel Lowe lined a ball into the right field corner and Josh Bell came all the way around to score from first base on a great effort to tie the game up at one. Until that moment the Nats’ chances at putting up any runs against Valdez were seeming pretty scarce, as he had them all off balance all night. Luckily for Washington, a high pitch count would force Houston to pull him after six strong innings with 12 strikeouts.
- Brad Lord: 5.1 innings, 1 hit, 1 run (1 earned), 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 59 pitches
- Framber Valdez: 6 innings, 3 hits, 1 run (1 earned), 2 walks, 12 strikeouts, 97 pitches
The Astros’ bullpen was greeted rudely in the top of the seventh as Riley Adams played tonight’s hero, taking a fastball from Bryan King over the right field fence for his sixth home run of the season. That 2-1 Nats lead would hold the rest of the way. It was a phenomenal night by the Nats’ pitching staff, Brad Lord retired the first 14 batters he faced en route to 5.1 magnificent innings. The bullpen backed him up as Konnor Pilkington, Luis Garcia, Jose A. Ferrer, and Kyle Finnegan all worked scoreless appearances tonight to bring this one home.
It wasn’t pretty, but with the 2025 Nationals it rarely is. If only we could play in Houston more often, the Nationals have certainly had some great games against the Astros in the past six years or so. Positives from tonight are slim outside of the pitchers. Riley Adams was the only multi-hit performer out of the Nats’ lineup tonight (go figure). While that may not spell good news for the prospects of seeing Drew Millas play soon, at the end of the day I don’t care who it is as long as we’re getting some form of consistent production from the catcher position. I will also shout out Josh Bell and Nathaniel Lowe who came up huge in the sixth inning, manufacturing a two-out rally against Valdez to give the Nationals an instant answer to the Astros taking the lead in the fifth.
Game two of this series will get going tomorrow night at 8:10. Michael Soroka (3-8, 4.85 ERA) will look to build on his last two outings, both of which were very good, a nice turnaround from where he was before the break. This game could have organizational implications as the looming trade deadline means this could be Soroka’s last game as a National. The Astros have yet to name a starter for tomorrow night but we should know who it is by midday tomorrow. The Nats have an opportunity tomorrow to win their third consecutive series, an excellent response to the struggles of June and July.
