The Washington Nationals secured a series win thanks to a gutsy comeback victory. There were a couple heroes in this ball game and they were players who have been stepping up down the stretch. Daylen Lile and Clayton Beeter continued their impressive play this afternoon.
In the first inning, it looked like this could be a short outing for Cade Cavalli. There was not a ton of hard contact, but the Pirates made Cavalli pay for his spotty control. After a walk and an infield hit, Cavalli got two outs.
However, a Nick Gonzales triple made it a 2-0 game early.
Things only got worse when Gonzales scored after a wild pitch. Cavalli allowed two more baserunners, but critically limited the damage. A three run first inning is much more palatable than allowing four or five. It was critical for Cavalli to stop the bleeding and he did.
After a scoreless inning in the second, the boys picked up Cade Cavalli. The Nats second inning rally was similar to what the Pirates did in the first. It started with a walk and a bloop single off of Mike Burrows. After that, Paul DeJong laced a double into the gap to open the scoring for the Nats.
After a Nasim Nunez sac fly, Jacob Young came to the plate with two outs. The light hitting outfielder came through, ripping a 106 MPH single up the middle. All of a sudden, it was a tied game and the Nats had new life.
From there, both pitchers settled in, but did not go very deep in the game. With both of these teams out of the playoff race, they are managing their young pitchers workload. Mike Burrows only lasted 4.1 innings while throwing 61 pitches. The Pirates did not want him to see the Nats for a third time.
Cade Cavalli completed 5 innings, and did not allow a run after the first inning. It was a shaky outing where he walked four batters, but he kept the Nats in the game. So far, we have seen the good and the bad of Cade Cavalli.
When the starters came out, both bullpens were solid. Before the pivotal breakthrough in the 8th, the Nats were helpless against a trio of Pirates relievers. The Pirates had a rally going in the 7th thanks to a CJ Abrams error, but Konnor Pilkington got out of the jam. It was a rough day for Abrams, who struck out four times and made an error.
However, the Nats eventually broke through. Like the other rallies today, it started with a walk, this time from James Wood. Then the Nationals second half MVP came through again. Daylen Lile stroked a double into the gap, but Oneil Cruz allowed the ball to go under his glove and Wood rumbled home. It was another clutch moment for Lile, who got on base four times today.
For the season, Daylen Lile is now hitting .288 with a .796 OPS. Those are outstanding numbers for a 22 year old who was not seen as part of the core heading into the season. After this, he has earned his place on this team. He is just a fabulous hitter.
In the top of the 9th, Miguel Cairo made a big call. He turned to Clayton Beeter for a third straight game. After a long and stressful outing on Friday, closer Jose A. Ferrer was unavailable. Cairo called on Beeter, who has been outstanding lately.
Beeter, who came over from the Yankees, made quick work of the first two batters. He struck both of them out on his filthy slider. That pitch is going to take him a long way if he is throwing strikes. With two outs, Beeter walked Jared Triolo after the umpire missed a call on 3-2.
After a Spencer Horowitz single, it looked like the ump had cost the Nats big time. It was first and third with Bryan Reynolds at the plate. However, Beeter locked in and struck out Reynolds on a filthy slider. It was his first career MLB save and it gave the Nats a series win.
In what has been a grim season, it is nice to see the Nats play well down the stretch. The Nationals are now 9-4 in September. With one more win, they will avoid a 100 loss season and win 10 games in a month for the first time since May.
