The Washington Nationals won last night in a 3-0 shutout that saw starter Jake Irvin efficiently go 7.0 full innings for the win on just 87 pitches, of which 58 were strikes. And the leadoff homer by James Wood along with the 2-RBI single from Nasim Nunez was plenty in this Nats victory.
While PNC Park is beautiful, the stands were empty last night by an actual head count that had to be fewer than 1,500 fans in seats. The paid attendance was 8,340 which is horrific, and a few in attendance wore paper grocery bags over their heads — and not to stay warm in the 46 degree weather at first pitch.
There was an horrific moment in last night’s game when third baseman, Paul DeJong, was nailed on a direct hit to the face by a Mitch Keller 92.7 mph fastball that hit DeJong’s left cheek below his eye leaving a gash, and the baseball also fractured DeJong’s nose. The camera cut away after showing DeJong on the ground with blood gushing from his nose. He was placed on the 10-day IL, and Trey Lipscomb was called up in his place. DeJong was rushed to the hospital last night with his left eye swollen shut, and his nose bandaged after it was set in-place.
“I’m pretty sure [DeJong] will be ok [when he heals]. I’m almost positive it will be an IL situation. That ball hit him pretty flush, and it was an unfortunate, ugly incident that he took the brunt of it, with the ball to his face pretty thoroughly. I just assume the eye will be closed and something, his nose, will be broken. So I would anticipate the injury list will be the next thing in order for him.”
— GM Mike Rizzo on @JunksRadio this morning
You can see the recent bullpen usage here:
Here are your Nats’ WAR leaders with MacKenzie Gore taking back the team lead just ahead of James Wood and Keibert Ruiz. On defense, Paul DeJong is your OAA leader, and Amed Rosario who barely plays is a -3.0 already. Here are your stats leaders on BBRef. There are certainly some surprises on there — good and not so good — but the gap is widening.
The Nationals have three daily starters who are well below the .200 batting average line known as the Mendoza Line. The season is now just over 10 percent completed, and the early results are worrisome based on underlying statistics such as chasing balls out of the zone. Luis Garcia Jr., Josh Bell, and Dylan Crews are all on the Mendoza list. Each have started most of the season. Bell has the lowest exit velo of his career, and his in-zone misses are as troublesome as the out-of-zone misses. As a primary DH, if you are facing a pitcher pumping 97-99 fastballs, you should be in the indoor cage between innings to get your timing ready for the fastball!
“Go 1-0 today.”
— Martinez said
The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.24 and 18th best in MLB. The reliever’s ERA sits at a 6.67 and is the worst in MLB.
Here is how the starters rank by ERA:
No. 5 Starter: Trevor Williams 7.36
No. 4 Starter: Michael Soroka 7.20
No. 3 Starter: Mitchell Parker 1.96
No. 2 Starter: Jake Irvin 3.91
No. 1 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 3.52
Washington Nationals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Stadium: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1st Pitch: 6:40 pm EDT
TV: MASN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app; In Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 183 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
