{"id":6633,"date":"2026-07-08T07:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6633"},"modified":"2026-07-08T07:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:35:23","slug":"astros-top-nationals-on-an-uneven-night-for-andrew-alvarez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6633","title":{"rendered":"Astros top Nationals on an uneven night for Andrew Alvarez"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rookie left-hander sets career highs in innings and runs in a 6-3 loss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
\u201cI just think I need to be better attacking the zone,\u201d Andrew Alvarez said after five walks and a hit-by-pitch. (Terrance Williams\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

To offset a beat and battered bullpen, Washington Nationals Manager Blake Butera let rookie left-hander Andrew Alvarez face the Houston Astros\u2019 order three times Tuesday.<\/p>

Read more Phillies\u2019 Wheeler sharply critical of MLB decision to exclude him from All-Star game<\/a><\/p>\n

The result: a night of milestones, both good and bad. Alvarez went 5\u2154 innings for his longest outing in the majors, allowed just four hits and retired the side in order in three of his innings. But he also gave up a career-high five runs and tied his career high with five walks.<\/p>\n

The Nationals have overcome bigger hurdles this season \u2014 this series, even \u2014 but on this night at Nationals Park, the offense didn\u2019t have enough juice in a 6-3 loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour hits aren\u2019t going to beat us,\u201d Butera said. \u201cWhen we\u2019re walking five, and then you add the four hits, that\u2019s when we are going to run into trouble. Honestly, we don\u2019t deserve to win if we are going to walk that many guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvarez sailed through the first inning, making quick work of the top of the Houston order, and James Wood led off with his 25th home run to put Washington in front.<\/p>\n

In the second, Alvarez plunked Christian Walker, walked Cam Smith and gave up an infield single to Brice Matthews, and a sacrifice fly by Nick Allen tied the game.<\/p>\n

The Nationals responded an inning later, Wood drawing a walk and scoring on a sacrifice fly from CJ Abrams, but from there, the Astros took over. Walker led off the fourth with another infield single, a grounder to short that could have been an out had Nasim Nu\u00f1ez fielded it cleanly. The Astros were able to load the bases, with two batters reaching on walks, and scored two runs on a single from Allen and another on a sacrifice fly from Christian V\u00e1zquez.<\/p>\n

They added one more in the sixth, with Alvarez issuing two more walks before V\u00e1zquez hit a two-out RBI single.<\/p>\n

Butera said Alvarez was pitching scared, a phrase he has used often throughout the season when his pitching staff isn\u2019t being aggressive enough. As the staff has done with other pitchers, Butera will reiterate to Alvarez that his stuff is capable of playing in the majors, but he has to limit the walks and force opponents to chase pitches.<\/p>\n

Alvarez said he needs to be better at adjusting in between hitters and not letting one walk cascade into more damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think I need to be better attacking the zone,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cI thought I matched up well with the hitters. Five walks and a hit-by-pitch, four runs coming off of those, I just have to be better. I have to give the team a chance.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Polanco returns to the Mets\u2019 lineup after missing 3 months with wrist, Achilles injuries<\/a><\/p>\n

V\u00e1zquez\u2019s single chased Alvarez for Justin Lawrence, who ended the inning by striking out Jose Altuve.<\/p>\n

\n
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Matt Krook retired two batters but loaded the bases in his Nationals debut. (Rafael Suanes\/Imagn Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

With a new left-handed reliever available, Butera sent Matt Krook, whom Washington claimed off waivers from the Athletics on Saturday, out for the sixth inning instead of continuing with Lawrence.<\/p>\n

The Nationals are again reevaluating which pitchers and scenarios they will send a reliever out for a second inning. On Monday night, Butera left Cole Henry in after he pitched a scoreless seventh. It backfired, as he allowed four runs, and Butera took responsibility Tuesday afternoon for the position he put Henry in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will 100 percent wear Cole Henry\u2019s poor second inning last night,\u201d Butera said. \u201cTo be very transparent, I think we did Cole a disservice because we didn\u2019t have him throw multiple innings in AAA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving forward, the Nationals plan to stretch out relievers in Class AAA Rochester in case they are asked to pitch multiple innings in the majors, which they often are. Given the way the Nationals\u2019 system is set up, if they bring up a reliever, it\u2019s because they need innings covered, not necessarily because they have a prospect ready to be a main contributor.<\/p>\n

Getting relievers ready to pitch multiple innings will take time. So on Tuesday, Butera was forced to work with what he had. Krook, who came in with a career ERA of 16.50 in 12 innings, struck out Yordan Alvarez, then gave up a single to Isaac Paredes and hit Walker with a pitch.<\/p>\n

Smith hit a grounder to Curtis Mead, who got the out at third but stumbled as he tried to turn a double play. Krook then walked Zach Dezenzo to load the bases with two outs, ending his Nationals debut.<\/p>\n

Riley Cornelio struck out Matthews to end the seventh \u2014 a welcomed sign that he\u2019s taking notes and being more aggressive, Butera said \u2014 but gave up a two-out solo shot to Altuve in the eighth.<\/p>\n

Carson Palmquist made it through the ninth, and Jos\u00e9 Tena hit a home run in the bottom half. The Nationals then loaded the bases with two outs and pinch-hit Dylan Crews with the game on the line. He stayed patient on the first two pitches to get ahead 2-0, but he fouled off a center-cut sinker before swinging and missing twice to end the game, dropping the Nationals to 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlush it and move on,\u201d Crews said. \u201cIt sucks, it stings. Any time your name is called you have to be ready for it. I was ready, just wasn\u2019t my time.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Tolbert ties MLB record with hits in 12 straight plate appearances as Royals rally past Mets 16-12<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rookie left-hander sets career highs in innings and runs in a 6-3 loss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAstros top Nationals on an uneven night for Andrew Alvarez - 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=6633\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Astros top Nationals on an uneven night for Andrew Alvarez - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The rookie left-hander sets career highs in innings and runs in a 6-3 loss.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6633\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T07:35:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8e49ed962017bd64b35284b1c8e30b28-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=6633#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6633\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Astros top Nationals on an uneven night for Andrew Alvarez\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T07:35:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6633\"},\"wordCount\":993,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6633#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/a4194011cd4dc0efed1e17641011543f-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6633#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6633\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6633\",\"name\":\"Astros top Nationals on an uneven night for Andrew Alvarez - 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