The Nationals put up a very strong fight towards the latter half of tonight’s ballgame, but ultimately, the Philadelphia pitching staff proved to be just a little bit better tonight. The Phillies’ most highly touted pitching prospect this decade, Andrew Painter, made his major league debut tonight, getting the start for the Phils, and he was magnificent. The rookie struck out eight over 5.1 dominant innings, just overpowering the Nats’ hitters throughout the night with a high-90s fastball, as well as a sinker/slider/changeup mix that looked just unhittable at times. To their credit, the Nationals’ pitching staff was awesome in their own right, getting out of jams left and right over the course of this one; in the end, they just couldn’t get the run support needed to come away with the win.
The Action
The first inning went by silently on both sides. Painter breezed through his first professional inning, while PJ Poulin, serving as the opener tonight, did his job to perfection and set the Phillies down in order in the bottom of the first. One of the Nats’ best scoring chances of the night came in the top of the second inning, as they led off the inning with back-to-back singles, placing runners on first and second with nobody out. That rally was quickly snuffed, as Painter then got the next three hitters to fly out to end the inning and escape the threat.
Zack Littell got the ball for the Nationals in the bottom of the second as their regularly scheduled starter. He’s coming into the season off a shortened spring training, as Littell only got two spring starts due to his late signing. In his Nats debut, he gave the boys a strong effort, allowing three runs over five innings, and working his way out of some jams along the way.
The first sign of trouble came in the bottom of the third, with the game still scoreless. That was until Zack missed with a sinker, throwing it middle-middle to Kyle Schwarber, and Schwarbs got all of it. His solo homer to right put the Phils ahead 1-0, a lead they would not surrender the rest of the night.
The Nationals had another scoring opportunity in the fourth, as Daylen Lile came up with a one-out double to set the table, but once again Painter buckled down and this time got out of it with two straight strikeouts to put an end to the threat. That missed opportunity was magnified in the bottom of the inning, as Littell missed middle-middle with another sinker, and Adolis Garcia went the other way for his first home run as a Phillie, making it a 2-0 ballgame.
It seemed almost like Andrew Painter was gaining steam the further he went. The top half of the fifth saw the rookie strike out the side with one walk mixed in, but all night he was just overpowering the Washington hitters in one of the more impressive debuts I’ve ever seen (thankfully nobody’s topping Stephen Strasburg in that department). The Phillies mounted a major rally in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with one out and Bryce Harper striding to the plate. The Nats nearly got out of it unscathed, as Littell induced a ground ball hit right to Luis Garcia at first. Unfortunately, Garcia booted it, a run scored, and everyone was safe. Littell did a nice job to avoid any further damage, as the very next hitter grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning with the score just 3-0.
The Phillies pulled Painter with one out in the sixth after a CJ Abrams single, and after the standing ovation from the Citizens Bank Park crowd subsided, the Nationals got on the board with the very first batter that Tanner Banks faced. Lile singled into right field, Abrams aggressively went first to third on the play, drawing a throw from Adolis Garcia in right field. That throw sailed into the camera well down the third base line, and Abrams was given home plate, and the Nats’ first run of the night.
- Zack Littell: 5 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs (all earned), 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 75 pitches
- Andrew Painter: 5.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 run (1 earned), 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, 84 pitches
The Nats’ newfound affinity for two-out offense came through again in the top of the seventh, as Nasim Nunez and James Wood combined for a little two-man rally to bring the Nats a run closer. Nunez reached on a two-out single, and Wood drove him in on what was considered a double, which in reality was a ball that smacked off of the pitcher Banks, and rolled past the infield, giving Nasim plenty of time to get around the bases and score.
One big bright spot for the Nationals was Ken Waldichuk. The lefty came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh and pitched the next two innings scoreless, while also facing the minimum to do it. His work gave the Nats a chance to tie the game in the ninth, as they once again had to try and put something together against all-world closer Jhoan Duran. After back-to-back strikeouts, Nasim Nunez beat out an infield single and then stole second base to put the Nationals a single away from tying the game. James Wood came to the plate with that opportunity, put up one heck of a fight in his at-bat, and lined a 100 miles per hour fastball the other way to the left field warning track, where it was just barely hauled in by a leaping Brandon Marsh. The Nationals were a couple feet, maybe even inches from tying this game, but alas, that’s baseball. A hard fought effort turns into the second loss of the season, setting up a rubber game for the series tomorrow.
What’s next?
The task ahead doesn’t get any easier. The series will conclude tomorrow afternoon at 1:05, with the Nats turning to their ace, Cade Cavalli (0-0, 4.91 ERA), to try and make it back-to-back road series wins to begin the season. The test on the other side will be just as tough, as the Phillies will turn to their ace, left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (1-0, 0.00 ERA). The Nats will need to pull some of that same scrappiness they showed on Sunday in Chicago to pull this one out, but regardless of outcome, the Nationals began the season with a six-game road trip against two playoff teams from last year, and the worst they can do is 3-3. If you offered me that last week, I’d have happily signed and accepted.
Down on the farm
Triple-A Rochester: Game postponed today due to inclement weather
Tomorrow’s game: 4:05 vs Scranton-Wilkes Barre
