Was the bigger game in Fredericksburg or Nationals Park yesterday? The Washington Nationals’ bullpen has looked like a completely different group the last two games, and yesterday, they were better than they’ve maybe been all season. MacKenzie Gore gave the Nats a shortened start as the Mets got to him and his pitch count pretty early in the game, knocking him out in the fifth inning. Normally, this would spell disaster for the Nats, having to rely on 14 outs from the bullpen, but all they did yesterday was throw 4⅔ scoreless, 1-hit innings to allow the offense to run away with a series-clinching victory.
Simultaneous to James Wood hitting a 3-run home run in the 8th inning was №1 draft pick and prospect, Eli Willits, hitting his first RBI in his first pro game just 55 miles south in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The 17-year-old finished with a 3-for-4 game, SB, 2 RBIs, and more. An absolutely huge day for the Washington Nationals organization.
For the Nats, it was the Mets scoring on the third pitch of the game, Gore got behind Francisco Lindor 2-0 in the count, and fed him a fastball over the heart of the plate, never to be seen again. Lindor deposited that pitch over the left field fence to make it a 1-0 game. To his credit, Gore then struck out the next three batters to get the Nats to the plate in the first.
Early on, it looked pretty bleak for the Nats’ offense against Sean Manaea, through the first two innings the Nats went six up six down, five of them striking out against the lefty.
The Mets added to their lead in the top of the third as Starling Marte took a curveball from Gore out to center for a solo shot of his own to double the lead and make it a 2-0 ballgame. They added on a third run in the fourth, thanks to a sacrifice fly by Hayden Senger, making it 3-0, with a Brady House double being the only thing the Nats had in three innings against Manaea, besides seven strikeouts.
That changed in the bottom of the fourth, the Nats caught a break as CJ Abrams struck out to lead off the frame, but ended up reaching first base on a wild pitch. Three batters later, he would score on an RBI groundout by Dylan Crews, making it 3-1.
Both starters would exit before completing the fifth inning. The Nats got to Manaea a little bit more in the fifth before he was pulled, getting a sacrifice fly from Paul DeJong, and then a two-run single by Riley Adams against Tyler Rogers to put the Nationals on top 4-3 after five.
- Sean Manaea: 4.2 innings, 3 hits, 4 runs (4 earned), 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, 91 pitches
- MacKenzie Gore: 4.1 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, (3 earned), 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, 94 pitches
The Washington lead got some reinforcement in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Jacob Young, putting the good guys ahead 5-3, a score that would stick until the bottom of the eighth. The eighth inning was the big add-on run inning for the Nats. Brady House began the damage with an RBI single, then the game was put completely out of reach thanks to a three-run homer by James Wood. This would make it a 9-3 ballgame, a score that would hold, and miraculously, the Nationals have split a four-game series with the Phillies and won a three-game series against the Mets to begin a 13-game gauntlet of facing the Phillies, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees with a 4-3 record. If we can find a way to take at least seven of these 13 games and come out of this stretch with a winning record, I think that would be a really nice surprise for all of us.
The biggest shoutout from yesterday goes again to the bullpen. Jackson Rutledge, Clayton Beeter, PJ Poulin, Cole Henry, and Jose A. Ferrer were outstanding in this one, tossing a combined 4⅔ innings with one hit, no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. Ferrer specifically got the save, going the final four outs, three of them via the strikeout. I’m really just overjoyed seeing the confidence he’s developing, and the effectiveness he’s found with his dynamite stuff. If he keeps this up, he could very well finish the year with a sub-4 ERA, which would be a huge win based on how he began the season. Offensively, Brady House was the star in this one, putting together a 3-4 day, but Riley Adams also contributed a two-hit game.
The Nats will take the train up to Philly to begin a three-game weekend series against the Phillies tonight at 6:45. We’ll get a rematch of last Saturday’s pitching matchup as Cade Cavalli (1-0, 2.20 ERA) will look to follow up on his seven shutout innings against these same Phillies last weekend, facing the veteran righty Taijuan Walker (4-6, 3.34 ERA). Citizens Bank Park has not been a fun place for the Nats, or anyone really, to be in the past couple of years. If the Nats can continue this run they’ve been on the past week or so, a series win in Philadelphia would be one of the highlights of this season.
