García and Abrams each reach the 20-homer mark for Washington, and Griffin dominates on the mound again.
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Earlier this week, Washington Nationals Manager Blake Butera and his staff met with Luis García Jr. to assess his play. They meet with the entire roster every six weeks, going over strengths, weaknesses and what improvements they’d like to see.
García’s meeting was quick. The message to him was simple: Don’t change anything. He’s on a heater, already surpassing his career high in home runs before the all-star break. And on Wednesday, in an 8-2 win over the Houston Astros, he added one more. García hit his 20th home run in the fourth inning, his 15th long ball since June 5.
“It means a lot to me,” García said through an interpreter. “I’ve been up in the big leagues for a while now and to reach 20, it’s always bene a goal of mine. And especially to reach it before the all-star break, it means even more.”
His home run, in addition to a no-doubt blast from CJ Abrams in the fifth inning and seven innings of one-run ball from Foster Griffin, helped the Nationals secure a series victory. Washington (48-46) is two games above .500 and still in the National League wild-card hunt as they prepare to face the New York Yankees on Friday for their last series before the all-star break.
For any player who goes on a streak, there comes a time when it’s no longer just a fluke. It’s just who that player is. And now, Butera said, is that time for García.
And he’s not the only one who has had a power increase this season. Jacob Young, José Tena, Curtis Mead, Daylen Lile and Abrams (plus Brady House, who is currently with Class AAA Rochester) have already tied or surpassed their career high in home runs before the all-star break, with Abrams doing so in the fifth inning on Wednesday. Abrams also picked up his 65th and 66th RBI, tying and then exceeding his career high.
So what’s the difference this season? The coaching change has made a big impact, the new staff pinpointing the strengths of each individual hitter and helping him maximize his potential.
“It’s awesome stuff,” Butera said. “It’s just a testament again to the way they prepare, the way they go about their business, the job our coaches do. They put a lot of time, work and effort into getting ready to go for these games and being dialed into the game plan and what they’re expecting to see is a large part of that and when they get the pitches they’re looking for, they’re doing damage.”
Abrams noted their preparation as well, and one other notable factor: the atmosphere.
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“Just absolutely good vibes in here,” Abrams said. “We have good vibes already, coming in every day, having fun, putting in the work and it shows on the field. Stay present and keep going.”
That first RBI for Abrams came in the third inning, when he hit a sacrifice fly to get the Nationals on the board first. Lile followed with a double to make it 2-0.
In the fourth inning, Keibert Ruiz singled and James Wood walked, setting García up for his three-run shot. An inning later, Abrams added his 20th home run of the season, and the Nationals added two more runs on a groundout from Tena and a sacrifice fly from Ruiz.
All the while, Griffin pitched seven stellar innings yet again, the fifth time this season he’s completed seven or more innings and the seventh start in a row in which he’s allowed just one run or less.
That one run came in the fourth inning, off a single from Brice Matthews.
Griffin struck out nine and walked none. He had close to all seven of his pitches working for him, he said, and was able to keep his pitch count low early on, which allowed him to make it through the seventh inning again.
“It’s just another aggressive team,” he said. “I didn’t take their aggressiveness to try to be fine or be out of the zone, so I just mixed a lot of pitches, stayed within the zone, was able to keep them off balance and not walk anybody is huge.”
Griffin, who, despite debuting over six years ago, is still a rookie by MLB standards and has turned himself into the Nationals’ most reliable starter. He heads into the all-star break with a 2.77 ERA, the 12th lowest in MLB at the time of publication. His 110 innings pitched rank sixth, and his 1.02 WHIP is ninth.
The Nationals are 15-4 in games that he starts.
“I can’t tell you how much value he’s added to us and how much he’s brought to us,” Butera said. “He’s been outstanding. Just every time out, it feels like he’s able to pitch deep into games and give us a chance to win.”
Note: Right-handed starter Jake Irvin faced live hitters on Wednesday for the first time since he went on the injured list on May 24 with a right shoulder strain. Irvin threw 30 pitches. The next step is likely a rehab assignment, but the Nationals have not made that determination yet.
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