Mark it, yesterday was one of the rare instances this season where I asked for a strong outing from a Nationals’ starting pitcher, and actually got it. Cade Cavalli took the mound last night for the first time since getting lit up in a blowout at Yankee Stadium, and the rookie showed an immense amount of maturity, bouncing back with a winning start.
The scoring got started in the bottom of the second, as the Nats scored first for the second straight game. Daylen Lile led off the inning with a double, and was immediately followed by a double from Riley Adams, scoring Lile to make it 1-0 Washington. They added to that lead later in the inning on an RBI single from Jacob Young, giving Cavalli a 2-0 lead to work with.
The Nationals added to it in the bottom of the third after Cavalli retired the side in order in the top of the inning. Daylen Lile picked up his second hit of the first three innings, this one an RBI single, scoring CJ Abrams to put the Nats ahead 3-0.
The Marlins finally got on the board in the top of the fourth as Cavalli’s control began to let him down a little bit. The damage came on a two-run single by Connor Norby, cutting the Nats’ lead to 3-2. Cavalli would bear down and retire the next two guys, keeping the lead intact.
The final runs were scored in the bottom of the fourth, on perhaps the most encouraging swing of the night for the Nationals. James Wood has had a glaring lack of power since the All-Star break, but last night, we got a glimpse of what we were so used to seeing in the first half of the season. Adam Mazur left a fastball down the middle of the plate, and James got all of it, sending a two-run homer over the wall in left for his 27th of the season, and extending the lead to 5-2.
Cavalli retired the side in order in the fifth, and Miguel Cairo decided that was all he needed to see. Despite a pitch count of just 75, the Nats decided that was all they needed from their rookie right-hander, and they turned it over to the bullpen that’s been tremendous of late.
- Adam Mazur: 6 innings, 10 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 90 pitches
- Cade Cavalli: 5 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (2 earned), 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 75 pitches
Cairo’s bullpen once again was absolutely nails. PJ Poulin, Cole Henry, Konnor Pilkington, Jackson Rutledge, and Jose A. Ferrer combined to throw four hitless innings to finish this one off.
The Nats had a big opportunity in the bottom of the sixth with runners on second and third with one out and James Wood/CJ Abrams coming up to face Mazur for a third time. Wood struck out and CJ lined out to left to end the rally. The Nationals have got to start taking every opportunity they get to extend leads, especially in the coming seasons when winning is going to be more of an expectation.
Positives from last night are once again the whole pitching staff, Cavalli and the five relievers put the club on their backs. Offensively, the Nats got two-hit games from Lile, Jacob Young, and James Wood to pace a 10 hit night for the good guys.
The series will conclude this afternoon with our second 1:05 start time of the series. The Mitchell Parker (7-15, 5.94 ERA) experience will be on display for the Nats, I’ll spare the thoughts I usually have when I see his name penciled in, and instead I’ll just say I’m just as happy to see him starting as I always am. You guys know what that means, and I’m sure echo those sentiments. Eury Perez (6-4, 4.04 ERA) will be on the mound for the Marlins, don’t let the ERA faze you, this guy is a future ace. Electric stuff, and he definitely has the potential to dominate today if the Nationals don’t come in with a good approach.
