After finishing up week one of the 2024 regular season, The Nats began a three-game home series against The Phillies before heading out west.
Nats Week in Review (April 5-10)
Game Seven Of The Season, Game One Of Week
The opener of the three-game series proved to be much of nothing for the Nats. Their bats were silent most of the evening. The Phillies took an early lead and the Nats never threatened to come back. The result was a 4-0 home shutout loss.
Just as concerning was another poor pitching performance from the starter. Patrick Corbin only lasted four innings. The bullpen did a good job keeping it as close as it was which actually wasn’t very close.
Game Eight Of The Season, Game Two Of The Week
Another outing where the Nats fell behind early and couldn’t catch up. Starter Jake Irvin gave up four runs in the first three innings, but to his credit, he hung in there and finished six innings without any more damage.
Once again the bats were mostly silent with the exception of Joey Gallo hitting his first home run of the year. The bullpen kept the Nats in it. Unfortunately, the end result was another loss, this time 5-2.
After dropping three straight all at home and with a nine-game road trip on tap with three against the always formidable Dodgers, the Nats were badly in need of a win before boarding the plane for the West Coast.
Game Nine Of The Season, Game Three Of Week
For the finale of a three-game set versus Philadelphia, manager Davey Martinez started MacKenzie Gore for a chilly Sunday afternoon game. Given the poor performance of the starters this season, Gore has done pretty well, especially since Martinez has been reluctant to leave any of his starters past five innings even if they’re pitching well. Gore went 5 1/3 innings giving up two earned runs on just four hits.
The Nats offense was basically pedestrian, but they managed to scrape across three runs on only seven hits. This time the bullpen did the job and the Nats came away with a 3-2 victory.
Off to San Francisco!!
Game 10 Of The Regular Season, Game Four Of The Week
The first game of a three-game set against the Giants turned out to be the best performance of the season for the Nats. After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Nats responded with three runs in the top of the second followed by three more in the top of the fifth. Again the team was efficient on offense putting up eight runs on only 10 hits.
Starting pitcher Trevor Williams was effective giving up only one run in five innings. The bullpen did their job again shutting down the Giants without giving up a run. The result was an 8-1 Nats win to get back to within one game of the five-hundred mark.
Game 11 Of The Season, Game Five Of Week
After a two-game absence due to a finger injury, C.J. Abrams returned to the lineup and hit his third home run of the young season. The Nats were able to push five runs across the plate on only eight hits.
Manager Davey Martinez continued his early season habit pulling his stater early as Joan Adon only pitched four innings in spite of giving up only one earned run. Five relievers combined to hold the Giants to just one more earned run over the final five innings with Kyle Wittingham picking up the save. A 5-3 Nats victory gave them their first winning streak of any kind on the season.
Game 12 Of The Season, Game Six Of The Week
After easily beating the Giants in game one of the series and winning a close one in the second game, completing the sweep proved to be too much for these Nats. After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a solo homer by Joey Gallo, the Giants responded with three of their own in the bottom of the frame. Two more in the fifth and sixth innings were more than enough as the Giants cruised to a 7-1 win.
Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin did not fare well as he gave up seven earned runs in 5 2/3. Next up is a three-game set across the Bay in Oakland after a day off. Inquiring minds want to know. Did the Nats have to change hotels?
Recap
Season record 5-7, weekly record 3-3.
Starting pitching remains a concern especially with Josiah Gray on the IL after struggling early and Patrick Corbin not looking especially sharp. The relief pitching has picked it up but it’s fair to wonder if they are being overused this early in the campaign. C.J. Abrams looks to be a rising star in the making. Joey Gallo has been solid. Lane Thomas hasn’t started rolling yet but chances are good he will.
