Nationals Lose 2 of 3 to Orioles in Battle of the Beltway, Game 3 Suspended Due to Rain
I’ll level with you. It isn’t looking good for the Nationals.
Washington dropped 2 games this weekend to the Baltimore Orioles after splitting 2 games with the New York Mets earlier in the week, dropping their overall record to 4-7 and 3.5 games back of the first place Marlins(???) and Braves in the NL East.
The Nationals opened this series with Anibal Sanchez facing off against Tommy Milone in DC. That’s pretty much where it started and ended for the Nats as Sanchez would get rocked for 10 hits and 5 earned runs after 5.1 innings with Ryne Harper and Wander Suero both giving up 3 earned runs each out of the bullpen for a total of 11 runs for the O’s. The Nationals offense would be non existent in this game as only Howie Kendrick, Victor Robles and Starlin Castro logging hits in this game for a total of 4 hits and 0 runs for the home team. Washington would lose 11-0 to Baltimore in a game really not worth remembering if you cheer for the Curly W.
The second game of the weekend would see Austin Voth on the mound for DC going against Tom Eshelman for the birds from Charm City. The game would start off great for the Nats as Juan Soto would hit his first home run of the season on a solo shot to left and Kurt Suzuki would drive in Howie Kendrick on a sacrifice fly. Voth would pitch exceptionally well for the Nationals, pitching 5 innings for Washington while striking out 5 and giving up 0 runs. Washington would continue to add onto their lead in the sixth with an Eric Thames double to deep center that would score Starlin Castro. Things were looking up for the Nats.
Then the 8th inning happened.
With Sean Doolittle on the mound pinch hitter Pat Valaika hit a solo shot to left followed by another solo home run from pinch hitter Pedro Severino to put the game at a 3-2 Washington lead. Daniel Hudson would replace Doolittle after the Severino home run then proceed to give up the back breaking go ahead three run homer to Anthony Santander, his third of the season. Washington wasn’t able to rally in the last two innings as Hudson would receive the loss and the Nationals would drop game two to the Orioles, 5-2.
Game three of the series would see Orioles’ Asher Wojciehowski on the bump against World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg would struggle in this game, giving up 7 hits in 4.1 innings with 5 earned runs being pulled after a Bryan Holaday RBI single and a Hanser Alberto 2 RBI double in the 5th. Stephen’s night would end after Anthony Santander reached on an infield single to score Bryan Holaday, bringing the score to a 5-0 Orioles lead. Washington would strike right back with Starlin Castro’s first home run of the season, a 2 RBI shot to left center that would score Adam Eaton, bringing the Nationals back and cutting the Baltimore lead to 5-2.
However whatever momentum the Nationals gained off that home run would be stiffled by the weather, as the game was suspended in the top of the sixth inning after the Washington grounds crew had trouble getting the tarp on the infield, in what is a strikingly accurate metaphor for how the Nationals season has gone so far.
The game will be resumed when Washington visits the Orioles in Baltimore this Friday as they open a new series with the Nationals as the home team.
The Nationals really need to find a way to turn this season around if they want to be competitive. A lack of offense, struggling starting pitching and a lackluster bullpen are the main points of emphasis. There’s very little time to come back unlike last season and the team needs to get it together soon, as they face the Mets in the start of a four game series in New York starting Monday.
