After losing two of three to Minnesota, the Mariners invade Nationals Park for three.
Nats Week in Review: Week Nine of the 2024 Regular Season (May 24-29)
Game 49 Of The Regular Season, Game One For The Week
The Mariners invaded Nationals Park for a three-game series.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning, the Nats responded by putting up three runs in the fourth, two more in the sixth, and one in the eighth. The offense was powered by home runs by Eddie Rosario, Luis Garcia, Jr., and Kiebert Ruiz.
Starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore was rock solid in seven innings pitched, giving up one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and a single base on balls. The bullpen closed it out and Washington had a series-opening 6-1 curly W.
Game 50 Of The Regular Season, Game Two For The Week
The second game of the series against Seattle was a tight tense affair. The Nats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead only to see the Mariners tie it up a few innings later. The game was tied at 1-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Nats were able to push across two runs in the bottom half of the stanza taking a 3-1 lead. The bullpen again closed it out with no drama and suddenly the Nats had themselves a two-game winning streak. Could they make it three?
Game 51 Of The Regular Season, Game Three For The Week
Trying to get a sweep would prove to be difficult for the Nats on this day. The quickly fell behind 4-0 after four innings but it couldn’t all be blamed on starter Patrick Corbin who was generally solid in six innings pitched giving up only three earned runs.
The Nats then roared back with five runs over two innings to take a slim lead into the eighth. Unfortunately, victory wasn’t meant to be as the back end of the bullpen gave up three in the eighth and two more in the ninth and Seattle had a hard-earned 9-5 win to leave DC with a win.
Game 52 Of The Regular Season, Game Four For The Week
Washington heads to Atlanta to take on the Braves for a critical first half of the season four-game series. The Nats need to make noise to stay in the wild-card race and the Braves need to not lose sight of the first-place Phillies.
In Lane Thomas’ first game back from injury, the Nats served notice early that they came to play. Washington scored four in the first followed by one each in the second and third to jump ahead 6-0. The hero of the night was C.J. Abrams who homered, had two hits, and drove in two runs.
Starting pitcher Mitchell Parker was lights out for six innings before tiring in the seventh and being relieved. The Braves managed to make it interesting with four runs in the seventh but the Nats responded with two of their own, the bullpen shut down the Braves and the Nats had a series-opening 8-4 win.
Game 53 Of The Regular Season, Game Five For The Week
The second game of the series would prove to be much more difficult. The Nats’ offense was silent on the night and so were the Braves until late. Neither team scored through six innings.
Unfortunately for Washington, reliever Jacob Barnes couldn’t get the job done and gave up two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Washington was unable to respond and took a 2-0 defeat to the clubhouse.
Game 54 Of The Regular Season, Game Six For The Week
Washington still entered the third game of the series with a chance to take three out of four. After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning, Lane Thomas announced his return from injury with a three-run homer, his first since coming off the IL.
Starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore was solid in only 5 1/3 innings pitched. The Nats put up two more runs in the inning after the Thomas blast and the Nats cruised to a 7-2 victory. Equally as important was the margin of victory which allowed manager Dave’s Martinez to give closer Kyle Finnegan the night off.
Observations: Washington now sits at 25-29 on the season after winning four of six on the week. We repeat-Lane Thomas is back just in the knick of time. Starting pitching and the bullpen remain strong. Time will tell how much the return of Thomas will help. It’s not just about his production but his presence in the lineup forces opposing pitchers to pitch to the other guys in the lineup.
Nats Week in Review: Week One
Nats Week in Review: Week Two
Nats Week in Review: Week Three
Nats Week in Review: Week Four
Nats Week in Review: Week Five
Nats Week in Review: Week Six
Nats Week in Review: Week Seven
Nats Week in Review: Week Eight
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