The late innings have not been a fun time for the Nationals this season. However, that changed this weekend. The Nats overcame blown leads and actually found a way to mount offense and carry the day. They took advantage of a weak Angels bullpen and did just enough to get three one-run wins this weekend.
Riley Cornelio opened for Jake Irvin in this contest, and set the tone with 2 scoreless innings. Outside of a pair of solo homers, Irvin was also solid in his 5 innings of work. Blake Butera brought
his right hander back out for the 8th inning, which ended up being a mistake though. Overall, it was a promising outing from both pitchers.
The Nats had a chance for a big inning in the first with the bases loaded and nobody out. However, they could not cash in due to a lack of timely hitting and hustle. James Wood had a chance to open the scoring if he ran hard, but instead he was jogging home. He probably thought that Zach Neto was going to throw to second base, but you still have to run harder.
Overall, it was not the cleanest game for the Nats. They walked 6 Angels hitters and CJ Abrams made a costly error in the 8th. Thankfully, they were playing the Angels who gave the Nats chances to stay in it. For the most part, the Nats took advantage of these opportunities with hustle ironically playing a big role.
The Nats got their first run due to CJ Abrams turning a single into a double with his speed. Yohandy Morales drove in Abrams to make it a one run game. They got the tying run thanks to Brady House beating out what would have been an inning ending double play.
The desire is still mostly there for the Nats. However, the execution and consistency leaves something to be desired. Heading into the 8th inning, this game was tied at 2. Both of these leaky bullpens changed that quickly though.
After Irvin walked the leadoff man, Butera pulled him for Erik Tolman. After lighting the world on fire early on, Tolman has come down to earth a bit lately. He was wild today, walking a batter and allowing a runner to score on a wild pitch. However, got let down by Abrams who booted a routine ground ball.
For most of this season, these blown leads would take a toll on the Nats offense. Thanks to some resiliency and the Angels bullpen, that was not the case today. The boys strung together five hits in the bottom of the 8th to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead. It was a true team effort with Lile, Vivas, Young and Crews all coming through.
As they tend to do, the Nats bullpen made things interesting in the 9th. Jack Sinclair gave up a double on the first pitch he threw. However, he buckled down and got the job done. The man on second ended up scoring after a pair of ground outs but that run did not matter. Sinclair mowed down Zach Neto with 3 sweepers and the ball game was over.
The Nats got their third sweep of the season. After being road warriors who struggled at home for most of the year, that script has flipped lately. The Nats can’t buy a win on the road, but have strung together some impressive home performances. I guess that is just baseball for you.
With their 70th win of the season, the Nats have a few milestones coming up. With two more wins, they will have the most wins in a season since 2019. If they get three more wins, they will avoid a 90 loss season. The Nats could also reach 75 wins with a 5-6 finish to the year. Even though they faded down the stretch, these would all be good signs of progression.
Even though it was the lowly Angels, this series was encouraging. They were finally able to win a few close games. CJ Abrams also looked the best he has in a while. Hopefully this can continue and the Nats can finish the season on a positive note.
