Cavalli Flirts With No-Hitter as Nationals Blank Cubs, 7-0
The Washington Nationals avoided a three-game sweep in emphatic fashion Thursday afternoon, shutting out the Chicago Cubs 7-0 at Nationals Park behind one of the best outings of Cade Cavalli’s career.
Cavalli carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, allowed just one hit over eight scoreless frames and struck out 10 as Washington completely shut down a Cubs lineup that had been among the hottest offenses in baseball. The victory improved the Nationals to 60-63 on the season and snapped a two-game losing streak.
The performance came at exactly the right time for Washington. Chicago had scored 20 runs over the first two games of the series and entered Thursday having won eight of its previous nine games. Cavalli erased all of that momentum almost immediately.
Cavalli Dominates From the Start
Cavalli and Cubs starter Kevin Gausman both retired the first nine hitters they faced, turning the early innings into a pitchers’ duel.
Cavalli was nearly untouchable.
The right-hander retired the first 15 Cubs hitters before Dansby Swanson drew a four-pitch walk to begin the sixth inning. Cavalli quickly erased Swanson by getting Michael Conforto to ground into a 3-6-1 double play before striking out Miguel Amaya to complete six hitless innings.
His no-hit bid continued into the seventh.
After Cavalli retired the first two batters, Michael Busch dropped an opposite-field bloop single into left field for Chicago’s first and ultimately only hit of the afternoon. Cavalli recovered immediately, getting Alex Bregman to fly out to center to end the inning.
Cavalli returned for the eighth and recorded his 10th strikeout when he retired Conforto.
His final line was outstanding:
8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K, 103 pitches.
Cavalli improved to 10-5 with the victory.
Perhaps even more impressive was how he did it. MLB reported that Cavalli’s fastball averaged 98 mph against Chicago, up from his 96.8 mph season average, and touched 99.1 mph. He mixed that velocity with a deep arsenal that included a knuckle-curve, sweeper, cutter and changeup.
Cavalli also joined Max Scherzer as the only Nationals pitchers to record multiple starts in the same season with at least seven innings, one hit or fewer allowed and 10 or more strikeouts.
That is elite company.
Crews Breaks the Scoreless Tie
Washington finally broke through against Gausman in the bottom of the fourth.
Abimelec Ortiz recorded the first hit of the game with a one-out single to right field. Dylan Crews followed with a sharp RBI double to left-center, allowing Ortiz to score from first and giving Washington a 1-0 lead.
With Cavalli dominating, one run already felt significant.
The Nationals made sure it would not be their only one.
Five-Run Fifth Blows the Game Open
The decisive inning came in the fifth.
Jorbit Vivas opened the inning with a walk before Andrés Chaparro singled, putting two runners aboard.
Andrew Pinckney brought Vivas home with a sacrifice fly to right field, extending Washington’s advantage to 2-0.
Then Ortiz delivered the biggest swing of the game.
With two runners aboard, the rookie attacked Gausman’s first-pitch fastball and drove it over the center-field wall for a three-run homer, pushing the Nationals’ lead to 5-0.
It was Ortiz’s fourth home run of the season and his third homer in four games. Even more impressive, Thursday marked only his 11th career major league game.
Ortiz has quickly started making an impact in the Nationals’ lineup.
Washington was not finished.
Crews followed with a single and stole second base before Daylen Lile drove him home with an RBI single, completing a five-run fifth inning and giving the Nationals a commanding 6-0 lead.
That ended Gausman’s afternoon.
The veteran right-hander allowed six runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. Six of the seven hits Gausman surrendered came against his four-seam fastball.
Gausman fell to 6-11.
Ortiz Continues Impressive Start
Ortiz was at the center of nearly everything Washington did offensively.
He collected the Nationals’ first hit, scored the game’s first run and then provided the knockout blow with his three-run homer.
Ortiz has now homered three times in four games, an encouraging development for a Nationals organization that continues giving younger players opportunities as the season progresses.
His power was especially important Thursday because Washington did not need a huge collection of hits to dominate the game.
The Nationals simply combined timely offense with overwhelming starting pitching.
Nationals Add One More
Washington tacked on its seventh and final run in the eighth.
Jorbit Vivas delivered an RBI single against Aaron Civale, extending the lead to 7-0.
Civale provided Chicago with 3 1/3 innings of relief after Gausman’s departure, allowing the Cubs to avoid using most of their primary bullpen arms.
For Washington, Clayton Beeter took over for Cavalli in the ninth and retired Chicago to complete the shutout.
Cubs’ Red-Hot Offense Goes Silent
What Cavalli accomplished becomes even more impressive when considering how well Chicago had been hitting.
The Cubs had scored 30 runs over their previous three games and averaged 7.1 runs per game over a nine-game stretch in which they went 8-1.
Washington had experienced that offense firsthand.
Chicago won Tuesday’s series opener 8-6 before Alex Bregman launched three home runs and drove in seven during the Cubs’ 12-6 victory Wednesday.
Thursday was completely different.
Chicago managed only Busch’s seventh-inning single and two walks against Cavalli.
The Cubs never seriously threatened to score.
A Strong Response From Washington
Losing the first two games of the series made Thursday important, even with the Nationals still facing a difficult climb in the standings.
Instead of allowing Chicago to complete the sweep, Washington responded with arguably its most impressive pitching performance of the season.
Cavalli was the story, but the lineup also provided exactly what was needed.
Crews opened the scoring.
Pinckney added insurance.
Ortiz broke the game open.
Lile and Vivas provided additional RBI hits.
It was the type of complete victory the Nationals hope to see more frequently from a roster that continues to become younger.
MSB Take
Cade Cavalli was already one of the most important arms in Washington’s future. Performances like Thursday show exactly why.
One hit.
Ten strikeouts.
Eight scoreless innings.
A no-hitter carried deep into the seventh.
Against a Cubs offense that had been crushing baseballs for more than a week, Cavalli looked like a legitimate frontline starter.
The most encouraging part may have been the combination of velocity and command. Cavalli was reaching 98 and 99 mph while still mixing multiple breaking pitches effectively. Chicago never seemed comfortable.
Ortiz deserves plenty of attention as well. Three home runs in four games this early in his major league career is difficult to ignore, and his three-run shot completely changed Thursday’s game.
Washington still lost the series two games to one, but a 7-0 win to close it out feels considerably different than being swept.
For a team evaluating which young players can become part of its next winning core, Thursday provided two potentially important answers.
Cade Cavalli looked like an ace, and Abimelec Ortiz looked like he belongs.
