The Washington Nationals bullpen blowing games is nothing new and we saw that today. However, the offense bailing out the bullpen and fighting back in the late innings was something different. That fight late in the game helped the Nats get their second walk off win of the season and win the series against the Angels,
As we have discussed, CJ Abrams has really been struggling lately. However, this series has seen a much more lively version of Abrams. While the Angels are not a good team, you cannot
solely attribute this improvement to just seeing bad pitching. Walbert Urena was averaging over 99 MPH, but Abrams was still able to get the Nats on the board with an RBI double in the 1st.
These last couple of weeks are very important for the Nats shortstop/second baseman. His OPS is still a ways off what it was a couple months ago. However, if he can stabilize these last couple of weeks, he can end the season on a positive note. There are still plenty of milestones for CJ to reach. He is one stolen base away from a 30-30 season and 4 RBI’s away from 100.
His 29th stolen base was perhaps his most important of the season. In the bottom of the 10th inning, the Nats had runners on first and second with 1 out. Abrams noticed that the pitcher was not paying enough attention to him and took off. He swiped third base without a throw. That stolen base ended up winning the Nats the game.
After Abrams stole third, Harry Ford hit a ground ball to the shortstop that Zach Neto booted due to the pressure of trying to get Abrams out at home. The Nats won the ball game and Harry Ford gave the Nats their second walk-off of the season. However, you have to give Abrams a lot of credit for this walkoff.
Honestly, the Nats never should have been in this position. Through 7 innings, it looked like the Nationals were cruising to an easy win. Andrew Alvarez had one of the finest starts of his career and deserved to get a win. He went 7 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts and only 1 hit.
With a 4-0 lead entering the 8th, this should have been a drama free contest. However, the Nats bullpen had other ideas. Brad Lord’s struggles in later innings continued in a 3 run 8th inning that included a 2-run homer.
When Will Dion entered to try to close out the game, Nats fans knew what was coming. They got what they expected, with the short lefty blowing the Nats 39th save of the season. Denzer Guzman was the hero for the Halos, ripping a double down the line to tie the game. Moises Ballesteros ended up giving the Angels the lead with a sac fly.
The Nats were down by one entering the bottom of the 9th. So many times this season, the Nats have rolled over in these situations. However, that did not happen this afternoon. Against Angels flamethrowing closer Ben Joyce, the Nats battled.
It started with a Jose Tena walk. After James Wood struck out, Tena stole a base and advanced to third on an error. That put the game on Andres Chaparro’s shoulders and the big man delivered with a base hit. The Nats were able to extend this contest into extra innings.
In the 10th, Jack Sinclair was able to come up with a crucial scoreless frame. That gave the Nats a chance to walk this game off, and they took advantage. They used their speed and some timely contact skills to end this game and get the series win. It was a thriller and the good guys came out on top!
