The scenes that transpired in the eighth and ninth innings at Nationals Park on Tuesday — as the Washington Nationals’ bullpen blew the lead, watched the offense give it back to them, only to lose it again — were bound to happen and probably will keep happening. The Nationals set themselves up for this scenario by not investing in better pitching, and the Philadelphia Phillies have too powerful an offense not to take advantage of those holes.
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So, instead of celebrating a lineup that put up nine runs, the Nationals found themselves coming to terms with a devastating 14-9 loss.
“About as frustrating of a loss as we’ve seen, as I’ve ever been a part of,” Manager Blake Butera said.
It wasn’t the first time this season that Butera suffered a crushing defeat — the offense also blew a 9-1 lead in San Francisco earlier this month. This one, though, came against a division rival, in a game that Butera said he was managing like a playoff game.
The Nationals and Phillies are jockeying for position in the competitive National League East, and while the postseason may be three months away, these are the losses they’ll look back on if they don’t make the cut.
“That whole clubhouse is pretty fired up right now,” Butera said. “We have to take a step back and realize this is a big series. We win yesterday, should have won today as well. Have two more games, tomorrow and the next day, against these guys. We have to come out ready to go.”
The Nationals were in control for most of the game, jumping out to a 5-0 lead as they relied on small ball against lefty Jesús Luzardo. In the second inning, Dylan Crews reached down and hit a low changeup for a single, then advanced to third on a single from Jorbit Vivas. Crews then scored when Jacob Young grounded into a double play.
Two innings later, Andrés Chaparro and Crews hit back-to-back singles, giving Crews a second consecutive multi-hit night. Vivas walked to load the bases, and Nasim Nuñez sent in two runs with a deep single to left field.
Nuñez then stole second, giving him an MLB-leading 30 steals. Jose Tená drove in two runs to give the Nationals a 5-0 lead.
That advantage would be cut into, as the Nationals tried to survive another night with the pitching options they have available to them. They turned again to PJ Poulin as the opener, who got through the first inning on just eight pitches, then used Zack Littell for the middle bulk. He cruised through his first three innings, then gave up a two-run home run to Edmundo Sosa in the fifth inning,
Butera then turned to Mitchell Parker. He retired the side in the sixth inning, but gave up singles to Bryson Stott and Gabriel Rincones Jr. to put two runners on with one out in the seventh.
Orlando Ribalta replaced Parker, coming in to face Sosa, and narrowly got a double play ball to end the inning. Sosa beat out the throw to first, the Phillies getting one run across on the play.
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Ribalta got the Nationals out of the seventh inning, but the eighth was no easier. Richard Lovelady took the mound, immediately giving up a double to Brandon Marsh. Lovelady then walked Alec Bohm and hit Bryson Stott with a pitch.
Clayton Beeter took over, and with the bases loaded, JT Realmuto hit a line drive to James Wood, who almost made the diving catch but instead came up just short. Instead, the bases emptied and the Phillies took a 6-5 lead. When he reflects on the game, that’s the play Wood wishes he had made.
“I just think the margins are super slim,” Wood said. “If I had just come down with that ball, maybe it’s a whole different game.”
But the Nationals’ offense had an answer. They took the game back, erasing the deficit with a three-run home run from Jorbit Vivas to take an 8-6 lead.
Brad Lord was tasked with the ninth. He had a 2.29 ERA entering Tuesday, and had been the Nationals’ most reliable reliever, and he looked the part as he got two quick outs.
They needed just one more out to secure the win. But then Trea Turner reached on a single and Marsh homered to tie the game. That was followed by back-to-back singles from Bryce Harper and Derek Hill, and another home run, this time from Stott, to make it 11-8.
With Paxton Schultz now on the mound, 11-8 became 14-8 before the disastrous inning was finally over. And while Luis García Jr. did homer in the bottom of the ninth, it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the way the bullpen performed.
“It sucks,” Lord said. “Coming in with the lead, looking to get the save, and being one strike away too and then give it up like that, that hurts. It’s a lot to unpack. It’s the game of baseball, just have to figure out what to take from it and learn from it and try to move on.”
The good news, if there was any on a night such as this, is that the Nationals have rebounded from troubling losses before. Wednesday will be another test to see whether they can do that just that again.
“It’s just one of 162,” Wood said. “I feel like that kind of always makes it a little bit easier.”
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