3,000 miles from home, Nationals' offense continues to flail in loss to Giants

Washington Post

2 days ago

SAN FRANCISCO — In the fifth inning Friday night, the Washington Nationals had the San Francisco Giants and reliever Kai-Wei Teng on the ropes. The bases were loaded, no outs. What followed in the Nationals' 5-o loss to the Giants was a microcosm of the Nationals season.
Jose Tena swung at the first pitch — a sinker below the strike zone — and grounded into a fielder's choice with a force out at home. Just like that Teng was no longer on the ropes. Jacob Young watched a sweeper for a strike in the ensuing at-bat, then hit a curveball into an inning-ending double play.
'You have to be aggressive in the strike zone, but if you're not aggressive in the strike zone, they're not going to throw you strikes," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. 'That means they're going to throw out of the strike zone. You cannot allow the pitcher to dictate what you're going to do. ... He [has] got to come to you, not you to him.'
The Nationals (45-70) went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left three runners on base as they were shut out for the second game in a row. They only had four hits. And Teng, a reliever who entered after the Giants (59-57) employed an opener, threw five scoreless innings, allowed three hits, one walk and struck out four. And it took him just 64 pitches to do so.
For most of the season, Washington has struggled with patience at the plate. Its 329 walks rank 27th in MLB. The average major league walk rate is 8.4 percent. Only James Wood, Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell, who walked to open the fifth, are above that figure.
The Nationals drew two walks Friday, their first free passes since Tuesday. Walks alone don't result in success. But walks show an advanced approach, something Washington's young hitters rarely show in situations that matter.
'Jake [Irvin] kept us in the game there,' Young said. 'We get a couple runs there [in the fifth], it's probably a different game. It's little at-bats here and there like that, they go the other way and we're looking at a completely different game.'
Well before the fifth inning, Jake Irvin struggled to complete the first. Irvin allowed a solo homer to Rafael Devers, then three straight singles, including Matt Chapman's RBI knock, to extend San Francisco's lead to 2-0. Irvin's first-inning ERA is 9.75.
The Giants were selectively aggressive against Irvin and used it to their advantage. Six of their eight hits came with less than two strikes. But Irvin navigated damage until the sixth. Jung Hoo Lee hit a routine grounder to Nathaniel Lowe that went under his glove. Casey Schmitt, who recorded outs on Irvin's curveball in his first two at-bats, waited for a breaking ball in the sixth. He saw it on the first pitch and deposited it into the seats for a two-run homer. That ended Irvin's night. The Giants scored an insurance run in the eighth. The Nationals' offense never responded.
'We just need to have better at-bats,' Cairo said. 'With men on base, we got to do the little things. We got bases loaded, no outs. Groundball, groundball. That's at least two or three runs right there. We got to do the little things. Jake pitched his butt off today.'
Note: Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr. was scratched from Friday's game with back tightness and was replaced by Jose Tena, who batted eighth. Cairo said García injured himself in batting practice and won't play Saturday with a quick turnaround.