{"id":5723,"date":"2026-06-30T07:05:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T07:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5723"},"modified":"2026-06-30T07:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T07:05:34","slug":"miles-mikolas-nats-offense-struggle-in-series-opening-loss-to-red-sox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5723","title":{"rendered":"Miles Mikolas, Nats\u2019 offense struggle in series-opening loss to Red Sox"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington\u2019s starting pitcher gave up six runs in the first three innings. The Nationals had no response in the 6-3 defeat.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more US playing at home and trying to avoid another quick exit from World Cup knockout rounds<\/a><\/p>\n

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Nationals starter Miles Mikolas allowed six runs in seven innings during Washington’s loss at Fenway Park. (Jaiden Tripi\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

BOSTON \u2014 Much of this warm summer Monday afternoon was a dream for the Washington Nationals and, more than all others, Manager Blake Butera.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is pretty awesome,\u201d said Butera, who played college ball at Boston College only a decade ago. \u201cWe went to games here when I was in school, and it was just like the coolest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spent some time wandering Fenway Park\u2019s outfield grass, his team marked their signatures inside the Green Monster\u2019s outfield wall and smiles reigned as dice games broke out in the clubhouse. Winning can be whimsical, the Nationals had come to realize amid an unexpected 43-42 start with MLB\u2019s best offense, especially after a feel-good series win<\/a> against the Baltimore Orioles this weekend.<\/p>\n

Which would make the subsequent 6-3 whacking by one of the worst teams in MLB, the Boston Red Sox (37-46), a nightmare.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were obviously trying to attack,\u201d Butera said. Boston\u2019s starter, Ranger Suarez, struck out eight in six innings: \u201cHe\u2019s able to mix speeds pretty well and move the ball around the zone a ton. … He just kept us off balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the game, between his frolicking and batting practice, Butera discussed the Washington bullpen. After a week that brought its season total to 22 blown saves \u2014 a mark that, if the Nationals\u2019 current pace remained, would break MLB\u2019s record by 11 \u2014 he said there was hope. His offense had proven it could offset any significant pitching difficulties. And if nothing else, his starters had shown enough over recent weeks to avoid stretching the bullpen.<\/p>\n

Then Miles Mikolas got the start. The calamity was immediate.<\/p>\n

Mikolas had shown better length as a starter before the Philadelphia series last week, going six innings in three of his first four starts in June. He only made it through three innings against the Phillies, yet Monday was markedly less encouraging. The Red Sox\u2019 Ceddanne Rafaela reached on a single in the first. Next, Wilyer Abreu in the same manner. And with one out, Mikolas left a 94-mph fastball over the middle. In one motion, cleanup hitter Willson Contreras launched an attack on a apartment window over the left field goliath.<\/p>\n

\u201cA slider kind of slipped on me. And a fastball, I tried to lean on it a little too much with two strikes,\u201d Mikolas diagnosed bluntly. \u201cI got to do a better job of just hitting my spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benefiting Mikolas was Contreras, who is in the middle of a career year with 18 home runs and a .282 average, getting ejected in the second inning in an exchange with the first base umpire. Some of the offensive beating eased from there, and he survived through the seventh while allowing nine hits, to Butera\u2019s chagrin.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a nice job of selling and making pitches,\u201d Butera said. \u201cHe did a better job location wise the rest of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Contreras\u2019s opener, third baseman Caleb Durbin belted another homer in the first, and sacrifice flies in the second and third brought the lead to 6-1.<\/p>

Read more Montgomery hits the go-ahead double and Gonzalez has 3 RBIs as the White Sox down the Orioles<\/a><\/p>\n

That one run?<\/p>\n

The usual suspect: James Wood. Back when Monday evening was still about smelling the roses and positivity, he slammed the third pitch of the game 441 feet into right field, good for his sixth leadoff home run this season. Only Shohei Ohtani has more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt good,\u201d Wood said in a somber tone after \u2014 a disconnect between his performance and the result. \u201cThe process the past day and a half has been a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n

To pull the game to the semi-competitive form it ultimately found, Washington\u2019s second typical offender, CJ Abrams, added to his budding all-star campaign with a two-RBI double in the sixth. After 15 consecutive hitless at bats, he let out a small grin when he reached second.<\/p>\n

Yet he and Wood never got on base otherwise. The offense that made Monday afternoon \u2014 and the past month \u2014 so flowery was nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot [of value],\u201d Butera said of the evening. \u201cOur offense, the way we\u2019ve been swinging the bat, just to be able to keep it there…\u201d<\/p>\n

He trailed off. The afternoon was warm, bringing back memories in his undergrad stomping ground. But Butera, as he noted, isn\u2019t \u201c21 anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of the evening, reality, as it so often does, had set in.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/b> The Nationals placed Mitchell Parker and Richard Lovelady on the 15-day injured list, thinning an already shaky bullpen that blew four saves last week. Lovelady suffered a triceps strain, while Parker experienced elbow inflammation, each pitching against the Orioles on Sunday. The more jarring diagnosis was Parker\u2019s with the velocity on his fastball dropping by 6 mph during the final at-bat he pitched.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith it being the elbow, absolutely need to make sure we take care of him,\u201d Butera said of Parker, whose 39 2\/3 innings pitched are second most in Washington\u2019s bullpen. \u201cThe stuff, it was the best we\u2019d seen. \u2026 He said he felt great up until those last couple pitches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parker was set for an MRI exam Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

In a pair of corresponding moves, Washington recalled Carson Palmquist and Riley Cornelio from CLass AAA Rochester. Both have pitched on the major league roster this month \u2014 Palmquist even went 3\u2153 innings against the Phillies last week.<\/p>\n

With the trade deadline roughly a month away, Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni discussed before Monday\u2019s contest the possibility of seeking bullpen aid sooner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in this window, where there are a lot of teams that are still trying to see if they can put themselves in position to go for it,\u201d he said. \u201cUsually that means they\u2019re less inclined to make deals.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Shohei Ohtani homers to lead Dodgers\u2019 offensive onslaught in 9-4 win over A\u2019s<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington\u2019s starting pitcher gave up six runs in the first three innings. The Nationals had no response in the 6-3 defeat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMiles Mikolas, Nats\u2019 offense struggle in series-opening loss to Red Sox - 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=5723\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Miles Mikolas, Nats\u2019 offense struggle in series-opening loss to Red Sox - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington\u2019s starting pitcher gave up six runs in the first three innings. 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