With Brad Lord dealing and Dylan Crews bringing his energy back, the Washington Nationals battled to beat the Phillies
It was not the World Series, but hey, it was nice to see the Nationals battle for a victory against the Phillies. There have been a lot of lopsided defeats to the Phillies over the last few years, but tonight they battled.
The tone was set by Brad Lord, who matched up with the Phillies big guns and thrived. Whether it is Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber, Brad Lord is not scared. Despite being an 18th round pick who worked at Home Depot, Lord knows he belongs in the Big Leagues. He was interviewed after the game and it is so obvious how elite his mentality is.
Lord allowed seven hits, but he scattered them across his six innings of work. In the end, he only allowed two runs. In a season where so many guys have had tough seasons, Lord has thrived. In 91 innings, Lord has a 3.26 ERA. He is a real candidate to be a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year.
On the offensive side of the ball, things were quiet in the early going. Jesus Luzardo mostly held the Nats bats in check early on. Besides hits from Dylan Crews and James Wood, the Nats were totally shut down the first three innings.
On Crews, it was great to see him return and he made an impact on all three phases of the game. Offensively, he got a hit and a walk. On the bases, he picked up his 12th steal of the season. In the field, Crews made a great diving catch. Even if the numbers are not amazing, Crews is a winning player.
In the fourth, the Nats got on the board thanks to a Paul DeJong solo home run. DeJong has been red hot the past week or so and has four homers in his last eight games. Since coming back from injury, DeJong has been good for the Nats and is earning more and more playing time. Even if you want to play the young guys, with the way DeJong is hitting, keeping him in the lineup sends the right message.
With the Nats down 2-1 in the 7th, Jackson Rutledge and Shinnosuke Ogasawara put up a huge zero. Ogasawara got a massive strikeout of Kyle Schwarber. The Japanese southpaw has been much better in a bullpen role.
In the bottom of the 7th, the Nats won themselves the ball game by stringing together some quality at bats. Paul DeJong and Daylen Lile worked walks against Luzardo, with a Riley Adams double in between. That was the end for the left hander.
After Luis Garcia Jr. popped up, Jose Tena came to the plate. Tena has not had a ton of playing time and struggled in his first couple at bats. However, he came through against Orion Kerkering, smacking a single into left field to give the Nats a precious 3-2 lead.
They could not add on, but the Nats had the lead. Now it was time to turn it over to the bullpen. With the middle of the Phillies lineup hitting in the 8th, Miguel Cairo brought out his closer Jose A. Ferrer for the 8th. The move paid off, with Ferrer getting through the inning comfortably.
However, that left Cole Henry in a save situation in the 9th. Henry came into his appearance with zero career saves. He got one last night though. After a leadoff single and a sac bunt, there was a runner in scoring position with one out. However, Henry buckled down and got a groundout and strikeout to end the ball game.
With the Nats record at 49-72, it is tough to call this a coming of age performance, but it was nice to see. They have been in competitive games lately, and that is all the fans want now. We understand that some nights the talent will not be there, but the effort should be. It is good to see the Nats staying in the fight, even in a lost season.
Category: General Sports
