And for his or her seventh straight loss, the Washington Nationals bumped into Pablo López, among the best starters within the majors by means of three weeks. The fitting-hander didn’t present a path for Washington to shake its offensive funk. He did the precise reverse.
Washington
Nationals’ skid reaches seven as Marlins’ Pablo López leaves them baffled
The center of their lineup — Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz — completed 0 for 9 with three walks. Two of these got here within the eighth, when lefty reliever Tanner Scott issued back-to-back, two-out free passes to Bell and Cruz.
Scott by no means would have appeared if Jesús Aguilar made a routine play at third. He then would have been out of the inning if Jazz Chisholm Jr. caught Soto’s sky-high pop-up on the suitable facet of the infield. As a substitute, Anthony Bender changed Scott and obtained Yadiel Hernandez to fly out to the warning observe in left-center, stranding the bases loaded.
The Nationals’ greatest “rally” of the night time didn’t embrace successful. Each dugouts thought Hernandez’s 107-mph drive was a grand slam off the bat.
“I nonetheless imagine we’re taking too many fastballs,” Supervisor Dave Martinez stated. “We simply obtained to be extra aggressive within the strike zone and be able to hit early. That’s the one manner we’re going to get out of it. The final 12 at-bats, I used to be simply in there going over it with [hitting coach] Darnell [Coles] for a minute, and the final 12 at-bats have been good. Now we obtained to try this all through the sport.”
When the season started, it was clear Washington wanted Soto, Cruz and Bell to cover the remainder of the lineup’s deficiencies. So what occurs after they’re chilly, too? One other punchless defeat. Bell, the best thus far, was moved from the fourth spot to 3rd Wednesday, changing Cruz as Soto’s bodyguard. However the shake-up didn’t present the supposed spark. Not but, no less than, since Martinez might give it one other look — and at this level, why not?
At night time’s finish, Cruz, signed for $15 million to guard Soto and thump homers, had an on-base-plus-slugging proportion of .509. The 41-year-old is actually not the Nationals’ largest drawback. Patrick Corbin, Stephen Strasburg, Victor Robles and Alcides Escobar are doubtless greater on that listing. Middle fielder Lane Thomas struck out 4 instances Wednesday, three of them wanting. Lucius Fox, who began rather than Escobar at shortstop, is 0 for 18 on the yr and nonetheless searching for his first profession hit.
But Cruz has been rather more of a difficulty than answer this month. An optimist would possibly say it’s solely April of an extended season. A pessimist, although, might hyperlink collectively Cruz’s age and his tough go within the remaining two months of final yr, when he struggled after being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. The early outcomes right here haven’t been promising.
“Nothing specifically,” Cruz stated when requested about his lack of manufacturing. “I really feel like I’ve been hitting the ball exhausting. I really feel like I’ve been having unhealthy luck. It’s what it’s. No person goes to really feel sorry for me. I’m the one who has to go on the market and compete and do my job.”
How did the Marlins get forward Wednesday? Aguilar took Erick Fedde deep in an inefficient outing for the Nationals’ 29-year-old righty. Aguilar took three shut balls — two of them doubtlessly missed calls in Gabe Morales’s inconsistent strike zone — earlier than rocking a sinker out to heart. After that, Fedde and reliever Andrés Machado issued three consecutive two-out walks within the fifth, the final one bringing within the Marlins’ second run.
Fedde, who usually thrives in opposition to the Marlins (9-8), wanted 91 pitches to document simply 14 outs, together with 24 in a one-two-three fourth as a result of Miami fouled off 9. He eased using his cutter, which Martinez lately referred to as his greatest pitch, and principally threw his sinker and curveball to the righty-heavy order. Due to an absence of deep begins, the Nationals have used no less than 5 pitchers in every recreation of their shedding streak.
When was the final time they dropped seven in a row? Aug. 28 to Sept. 4, 2021, a month after Washington traded away eight veterans on the deadline. However that skid didn’t even make it to Sept. 5 as a result of the Nationals snapped it within the second leg of a doubleheader in opposition to the New York Mets. They’ve scored 14 runs on their present slide, a mean of two a contest.
What’s the newest with Stephen Strasburg? The fitting-hander threw a 37-pitch bullpen session in West Palm Seashore, Fla. on Wednesday. Joe Ross, rehabbing on an identical schedule, logged round 45 pitches. Each might face hitters quickly in reside batting apply, although Martinez stated the identical factor after their earlier bullpen classes. Strasburg stays sidelined after present process surgical procedure for thoracic outlet syndrome final summer season. Ross had a bone spur faraway from his elbow in early March.
A number of weeks later, Ross was shut down whereas Strasburg noticed hitters on a again area on the group’s spring coaching facility. However Strasburg was set again when, as Martinez put it, “his mechanics have been off.” Washington’s firm line is that the membership desires Strasburg to rejoin the group and keep. The not-so-subtle message there’s that this might take some time.
What triggered maybe the largest cheers of the night time at Nationals Park? Gio Gonzalez, a former Nationals starter, being launched on the large display screen between the underside of the fourth and high of the fifth. Gonzalez was bundled up and sitting within the second row behind house plate along with his household. He pitched in elements of seven seasons with the Nationals and retired after spending spring coaching with the Marlins in 2021.