Yohandy Morales goes deep, and Washington wins a bullpen game while keeping an eye on the future.
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This week’s series didn’t matter for the Washington Nationals or the Detroit Tigers. Both teams have been eliminated, their seasons ending on Sunday regardless of who won the matchup.
But for the first time in years, the Nationals will enter the offseason hopeful that better days are near. They want to end the season strong, so that when games at the end of September do matter, they are prepared.
The Nationals, after Wednesday’s 4-2 victory in a rubber match against the Tigers in Detroit, have won or tied their past four series. Even though just one, the two-game split against the Philadelphia Phillies, was against a playoff contender, the Nationals are still playing hard, even managing to get a win in a bullpen game.
“It’s good to see a lot of progress, a lot to be excited about moving forward,” Nationals Manager Blake Butera told reporters. “It makes you feel good about where you’re heading.”
On Wednesday, veteran Framber Valdez got the start for the Tigers. He hasn’t fared well in the first inning this season, pitching to a 6.98 ERA. The Nationals, though, didn’t take advantage. They went down in order in the first three innings, not getting on base until the fourth, when Brady House singled and CJ Abrams walked.
In the sixth inning, the Nationals finally cracked Valdez. Andrés Chaparro and House hit back-to-back singles to open the inning, setting runners up on first and second for Abrams, who homered twice in Tuesday’s 3-1 win.
Abrams added another RBI, hitting a line drive as Chaparro scored, but he got caught standing between first and second as House hesitated ahead of him.
The Nationals were still able to add to their 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Yohandy Morales hit a towering two-run home run to right-center field to make it 3-0.
The Nationals, meanwhile, went with a bullpen game. Richard Lovelady opened, pitching 1⅓ scoreless innings. He passed the game to Brad Lord, who covered 3⅓ innings.
Will Dion followed, getting the third out in the fifth inning but giving up a solo home run to Ben Malgeri on the first pitch of the sixth. Dion made it through the rest of the inning without allowing another run.
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In the seventh inning, Nasim Nuñez singled then stole second, his 48th to break the Nationals’ single-season record, and third as well to make it 49. That set up James Wood, who grounded to first, driving in Nuñez for a 4-1 lead.
Nuñez’s bat hasn’t been the most productive this season — he’s hitting .209 with a .533 OPS — but when he’s able to get on base, like he was in the seventh inning, he’s able to do damage. His 49 stolen bases are 10 more than the next-closest player in the National League.
“Anytime I get on base, I can make something happen,” he told the Nationals television broadcast. “I thank my parents for giving me genetics, speed, and, you know, thank god and all that stuff. And for sure [first base coach] Corey [Ray], he pushed me a lot, talked a lot of trash to make sure I got to where I am right now. He’s still talking trash, talking about ‘let’s get to 60.’”
After Dion and Jack Sinclair got through the seventh inning, Erik Tolman took the ball for the eighth, his fourth appearance in five days. This is not a strategy the Nationals have utilized often this season, especially with a pitcher still finding his footing.
But the Nationals see Tolman, who has four saves in his first month as a big leaguer, as someone who can handle high-leverage innings next season. To prepare him, they want him to get used to pitching often.
It didn’t work out in their favor this time. He walked Riley Greene and Max Clark and was removed with two outs in the eighth inning.
“When you watch some of these teams with better bullpens and better relievers, you see them use guys like that all the time,” Butera told reporters. “I think that’s what we’re trying to create here, to where we get to a point that even if we don’t use these guys, they are ready to take the ball at those times.”
Yovanny Cruz got the last out of the eighth inning, striking out Spencer Torkelson. Butera stayed with Cruz for the ninth, and although he gave up three hits and the Tigers managed to score one run, he still held on to secure the win and his first major league save.
“His confidence is the biggest thing,” Butera told reporters about Cruz’s progress this season. “It just looks like a totally different demeanor on the mound right now. He’s got belief in his stuff.”
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