{"id":5199,"date":"2026-06-26T08:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T08:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5199"},"modified":"2026-06-26T08:06:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T08:06:57","slug":"third-consecutive-bullpen-collapse-leaves-nationals-reeling-and-back-at-500","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5199","title":{"rendered":"Third consecutive bullpen collapse leaves Nationals reeling and back at .500"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Reliever Gus Varland allowed two home runs and five earned runs in two innings of work, then was optioned to Class AAA Rochester after the game. (Brad Mills\/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Surely it couldn\u2019t happen three nights in a row. Surely the Washington Nationals\u2019 bullpen couldn\u2019t possibly blow the game in the ninth inning yet again.<\/p>

Read more U.S. completes World Cup group stage. Now comes the hard part.<\/a><\/p>\n

But it did. The bullpen was handed a 5-2 advantage Thursday night and tasked with covering three innings. It should have been a big enough advantage, but at this point, nothing is safe for that unit. A 5-2 game became 5-5 in the seventh inning, and the Phillies took the ninth inning and ran with it for the third day in a row as they beat the Nationals, 10-5.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hurts,\u201d starter Cade Cavalli said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to sit here and say it doesn\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s loss, when the Nationals allowed eight runs in the ninth, was the most heartbreaking loss Manager Blake Butera said he had ever been a part of. On Wednesday, after the bullpen blew a 4-3 lead, they left the clubhouse confused, distraught and frustrated.<\/p>\n

Thursday was all of the above, with an emotional toll of three consecutive blown games compounded on their shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis —- sucks,\u201d said Gus Varland, who gave up five runs in the ninth inning. \u201cThis just —- sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the game, players and staff members lined up to give their hugs to a visibly upset Varland in the clubhouse. He was optioned to Class AAA Rochester after the game, but that\u2019s only a small part of the bullpen dilemma.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys in the bullpen, we feel for them,\u201d Cavalli said. \u201cThere\u2019s nobody that feels worst than them. We know that they\u2019re trying as hard as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offense and starters both did their jobs on Thursday, the offense putting up five runs against Cristopher S\u00e1nchez and Cavalli allowing just two runs in six innings. The challenge now is making sure the units that are playing well don\u2019t try to do too much to make up for the deficits of the bullpen.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving us a five-run lead against that type of pitcher, that quality, they did everything they could,\u201d Butera said. \u201cCade Cavalli, who we gave the ball to on Opening Day, who\u2019s our No. 1, who\u2019s our horse, he did what No. 1\u2019s do, and against this lineup. He pitched his ass off. I couldn\u2019t be more proud of Cade Cavalli.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Brandon Marsh of the Phillies is tagged out by Nationals second baseman Jorbit Vivas in the seventh inning. (Brad Mills\/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The bullpen only needed to handle three innings.<\/p>\n

Mitchell Parker, who has been the Nationals\u2019 least reliable reliever this season, was handed the seventh inning. While he struck out Derek Hill, Wednesday\u2019s hero for the Phillies, things quickly spiraled. Justin Crawford and Trea Turner hit singles, then Kyle Schwarber walked to load the bases.<\/p>\n

Bryce Harper worked a full count, then walked to bring in a run. That would end Parker\u2019s day. Clayton Beeter entered the game and immediately walked Brandon Marsh, sending in yet another easy run for the Phillies. Then, Alec Bohm grounded into a forceout as Schwarber scored, tying the game at 5.<\/p>

Read more Pulisic returns to the US lineup with highlights and lowlight in a World Cup loss to Turkey<\/a><\/p>\n

Varland got through the eighth inning without allowing any damage. But Butera stuck with him for the ninth \u2014 with Beeter already used, and Richard Lovelady down after pitching three nights in a row, there were no better options.<\/p>\n

Schwarber opened the inning with a base hit, then Harper hit a home run to left field. That gave the Phillies a 7-5 lead, but they didn\u2019t stop there. The Phillies added three more runs before Varland finally got the third out.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust didn\u2019t throw strikes, didn\u2019t execute,\u201d Butera said.<\/p>\n

The challenge for the Nationals is that it hasn\u2019t been just one reliever. They don\u2019t have a designated closer, not because they don\u2019t want to name one, but because no candidate has emerged worthy of the role.<\/p>\n

The bullpen is pitching scared, Butera admitted, and they aren\u2019t going to win games that way. <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta attack, you gotta throw strikes and if we\u2019re afraid to do so, we\u2019ll keep giving the next guy an opportunity until somebody steps up and shows they want the ball and they are ready to go attack,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With Varland optioned, the Nationals will be making a roster move before Friday\u2019s series opener in Baltimore. But the options there are limited as well. There are four players on the 40-man roster who have pitched in a major league game this season are are eligible to be recalled, and none have an ERA under 5.79. They\u2019ll consider using the arms they do have differently, Butera said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our group right now,\u201d Butera said. \u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re going to turn to the bullpen and whoever\u2019s ready to pitch is going to get in there and get an opportunity to pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Phillies celebrated, Butera remained on the top step of the dugout, and a handful of players watched from the railing.<\/p>\n

This was another winnable game. This was another chance for them to show they are capable of competing with a division opponent.<\/p>\n

Instead, they fell to .500 (41-41) and won just one of four games this series.<\/p>\n

\u201cTough, I don\u2019t really know if there\u2019s any other way to put it,\u201d outfielder Jacob Young said. \u201cIt\u2019s just something we have to move on from, take the good and learn from it and go from there.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Pochettino annoyed by perceived disappointment after US finishes group play with 3-2 loss to Turkey<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philadelphia dominated the ninth inning for the third night in a row at Nationals Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThird consecutive bullpen collapse leaves Nationals reeling and back at .500 - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5199\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Third consecutive bullpen collapse leaves Nationals reeling and back at .500 - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Philadelphia dominated the ninth inning for the third night in a row at Nationals Park.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5199\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-26T08:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/e61a7b36075f5d810aac30e49542cf93-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Third consecutive bullpen collapse leaves Nationals reeling and back at .500\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-26T08:06:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199\"},\"wordCount\":1011,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a7db7f7f4d8c673d328f7b67edc98ce4-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5199\",\"name\":\"Third consecutive bullpen collapse leaves Nationals reeling and back at .500 - 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