After winning three of five on a brief home stand which included a split against the Orioles, the Nats head back on the road for six games against a pair of Sox followed by three at Philadelphia to conclude their nine-game trip.
Nats Week in Review (May 10-15)
Game 37 Of The Regular Season, Game One For The Week
The Nats open up a three-game series against the Red Sox in Boston. Things started off well for the Nats with third baseman Trey Lipscomb driving in two runs in the top of the second inning. After adding one more in the third they took a 3-0 lead heading into the middle innings
In his best performance of the season, starter Patrick Corbin pitched seven innings and gave up only one run. This was an unusual outing not only for Corbin but also because manager Davey Martinez allowed one of his starting pitchers to go deep into the game.
The Nats added two more in the ninth which allowed Martinez to give closer Kyle Finnegan a well deserved night off and the Nats had themselves a relatively stress free 5-1 win to start the road trip.
The win gave the team a winning record for the second time this season.
Game 38 Of The Regular Season, Game Two For The Week
In what would be a back-and-forth affair, Washington jumped ahead early on a second-inning homer by Joey Meneses. The Sox tied it an inning later, with the Nats retaking the lead on their second homer on the evening, this one by Eddie Rosario. Again Boston would respond and the contest headed to the eighth tied at 2.
We can’t blame starter Jake Irvin. For the second consecutive game, Martinez kept his starter in for seven complete innings. Irvin gave up only two runs with six strikeouts and zero walks.
Unfortunately for the Nats, their offense was inefficient getting only two runs in spite of hitting two homers. Reliever Robert Garcia faltered in the eighth, giving up two and Boston had evened the series with a 4-2 victory.
Game 39 Of The Regular Season, Game Three For The Week
The rubber match of the series against Boston saw Washington fall behind 3-0 after two innings although only two of them were earned. Starter MacKenzie Gore was solid in his six innings pitched, not allowing any more runs after the second.
Again the Nats offense didn’t do much. Only a two-run homer by Eddie Rosario kept them from being shut out.
The late innings didn’t provide any scoring from either team and Boston won the game and the series with a 3-2 win. Again the Nats dropped below the .500 mark on the season. Next up was the South Side of Chicago for three more.
Game 40 Of The Regular Season, Game Four For The Week
After getting rained out for Monday’s opener to begin the three-game series against the White Sox, the teams scheduled a late afternoon evening doubleheader.
In game one, after falling behind 1-0 after three, the Nats pushed three runs across in the fifth inning. Chicago immediately countered with two of their own and after five it was tied at 3-3.
Manager Davey Martinez reverted back to his early season strategy of getting his starter out early as Trevor Williams only lasted five innings.
This time the good fortune belonged to the Nats. They scored three times in the eighth inning. Offensive heroes were Joey Meneses and Trey Lipscomb who combined for seven of Washington’s 10 hits on the evening.
Martinez used four relievers over the final four innings. Kyle Finnegan was seen again and pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win and add to his impressive save total. Nats win 6-3.
Game 41 Of The Regular Season, Game Five For The Week
One of the challenges of playing against a bad team in their ballpark is that the visitors have to manufacture their own energy. That didn’t happen in the second game of the doubleheader.
Starter Mitchell Parker was respectable in his five innings pitched. He gave up just three runs, however, they were early as in all in the third inning.
The Nats looked listless in this one. They managed only four hits on a chilly night in Chicago. The Sox added one more run in the eighth and had themselves a 4-0 shutout victory.
Game 42 Of The Regular Season, Game Six For The Week
In spite of having the next day off before heading to Philadelphia, the Nats had an afternoon get-away-day game to wrap up their visit to the Windy City.
If getting just four hits the previous evening was disappointing, you might not have wanted to watch this one.
Patrick Corbin was solid in 5 2/3 innings pitched giving up just two runs. However, that was all the White Sox needed. Washington managed only three hits on the afternoon and limped out of town with their second consecutive shutout loss. Sox win 2-0.
Observations
We’re basically at the quarter mark for the regular season and the Nats sit at 20-22. The bats have gone silent. Despite scoring only 16 runs through the first six games of the nine-game road trip, they scored six runs in one game and five in another. That’s five runs total in the other four games. Where is Lane Thomas? Equally concerning is that C.J. Abrams has cooled off.
In spite of the Nats base stealing prowess, it doesn’t matter if you can’t get men on base.
The pitching staff continues to impress. Through the first six games on this recent trip, they’ve given up just 18 runs. Which is why it doesn’t look good going 2-4 in those games.
The upcoming series against the Phillies is starting to take on more importance as the Nats look to remain in wild-card contention.
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
Main Image: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
