As they have done for a lot of games lately, the Washington Nationals showed a lot of fight and kept things close. However, they fell short because of some flaws that have haunted them all season. Despite that there were some positives to take away from the game.
Let’s start with the positives before we dive into the flaws. The biggest positive was the bullpen. This new look bullpen has been low on known quantities, but the performance levels have been high. Today, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Jackson Rutledge,
Konnor Pilkington and Clayton Beeter went 5.2 scoreless innings.
Although Ogasawara gave up a run, it was an inherited runner, so it was charged to Jake Irvin. Those guys were lights out. They only allowed one hit and struck out seven. Those guys are the soft underbelly of the bullpen, not the higher leverage guys, so seeing them perform was great.
Getting those kinds of performances from the bullpen allows you to keep the game in striking distance. When the game is within one or two runs, it is anyone’s game. Too often this season, the bullpen has made relatively close games blowouts. They have been much better lately and that is why the Nats have been in more close games.
Despite this heroic performance from the bullpen, the Nats could not get the win. There were a couple key things that came up today that we have seen all season. Yet again, the Nationals got shut down by a crafty lefty. Every time the Nats face a lefty who throws 91 MPH, you know the offense is in for a long day. From Jacob Lopez to Andrew Heaney, those kinds of guys have shut the Nats down.
This time it was Ranger Suarez’s turn. Don’t get me wrong, Suarez is a good pitcher, but the Nats not named Jacob Young looked clueless out there. He went seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 11.
Suarez had the Nationals hitters swinging at balls and taking strikes all afternoon. Through five innings, the Nationals were swinging at pitches outside the strike zone more often than they were swinging at pitches in the zone. That is an ugly combination.
While the Nats got some things going against the Phillies bullpen, it was not enough. They had a golden opportunity in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and nobody out, but after a James Wood double play and CJ Abrams fly out, they only mustered one run. The pinch hitting Luis Garcia Jr. hit a homer to cut the deficit to one in the 9th, but the rally ended up coming short. It was yet another day game loss for the Nats.
However, the biggest problem today for me was Jake Irvin. He only made it 2.1 innings, the shortest start of his career. Irvin and Mitchell Parker seem to be competing to see who the worst starting pitcher in baseball is.
We talked about how bad Parker has been, but Irvin’s last 21 starts have been nearly as bad. His ERA in August is over 9 and is over 6 in his last 21 outings. That lack of velocity has caught up to Irvin and it is hurting him.
Right now Irvin and Parker are just black holes in the rotation. The Nats are just way worse when they are on the mound and it shows. They need starting pitchers that give them a chance and those guys are not doing that.
With another dominant performance by Jarlin Susana, more and more fans want to see him get an audition. With his triple-digit heater and wipeout slider, it is tempting. However, I think the team will keep him in the minors.
Something needs to change in the rotation. Miguel Cairo was non-committal about Mitchell Parker’s future yesterday and Irvin could be next if he keeps this up. We saw what new blood could do to the rotation with Brad Lord and Cade Cavalli. It is time to make a move in the rotation because this team is battling and they deserve better.
