Let, me preface this article by quickly giving an apology/an explanation. I’ve been pretty awful the last couple weeks about getting one of these out for every game, and I’ve discussed this with Steve already, I know it’s a non-issue for 99% of you, but I do still feel responsible. I am a full-time college student as a lot of you know, and the first couple of weeks back on campus have been a swarm of things I need to do for the various organizations I serve in, and there’s just some nights where it isn’t possible for me to get to my article. I know you all are tremendous supporters, I’m thankful for every one of you, which is why I felt you all deserved an explanation.
Anyways, now let’s get into what was another rough one for the Nats in the Bronx. It’s a credit to the pitching staff that the Nationals stayed relatively in this game from start to finish, they just could never get that big hit from the offense to bring them back.
This one actually started out well for the Nats in the scoring department, both starters played a little bit of damage control in the first two frames, but in the top of the third the Nats jumped on top. Robert Hassell started the inning with a double, and was brought in to score on an RBI single by CJ Abrams.
The Yankees answered back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out rally that consisted of four straight hitters reaching base. After a double and two straight walks, Giancarlo Stanton delivered the big blow, via a bases clearing three-run double to put the Yanks up 3-1.
The Nats stranded two more runners in the fourth and two in the fifth. The fifth inning was the more perplexing instance for me, the Nats made the final out of the inning at home, on a play that wasn’t even close. James Wood was waved home on a two-out single by Josh Bell, and was thrown out by 15 feet. I’ll hold my thoughts on the job Ricky Gutierrez, the third base coach, has done this season as long as he’s not back next year.
- MacKenzie Gore: 5 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 99 pitches
- Luis Gil: 5 innings, 5 hits, 1 run (1 earned), 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, 92 pitches
The Nats had another great opportunity in the sixth, loading the bases with one out, but a strikeout by Jacob Young and a groundout by Wood put the rally to bed.
The failure to score would come back to bite the Nats in the bottom of the inning, as Stanton struck again. He belted a two-run homer off of Orlando Ribalta to make it 5-1, with all five runs coming courtesy of Stanton’s bat.
The bats went silent on both sides over the final three innings as both bullpens dialed in and the score remained 5-1 until the end.
The Nats, while not expected to do much, have just looked overmatched in their first couple games at Yankee Stadium. Clayton Beeter and Konnor Pilkington were the two positives out of the bullpen for the Nats tonight, each throwing a scoreless inning. Offensively, CJ Abrams came up with a three-hit night, and Robert Hassell contributed two in the Nats’ only multi-hit performances of the game.
The series will conclude tomorrow afternoon at 1:05, the Nats would do well to salvage a game in this disastrous series. They’ll face an old adversary in Max Fried (13-5, 3.14 ERA), a lefty that they faced numerous times over his career with the Braves. The Nats will put young Cade Cavalli (1-0, 2.82 ERA) on the biggest stage of his young career, having to try and slow down this powerful offense on their own turf.
