The Nats need to get a win today to stop this losing skid from getting out of control
The Washington Nationals have not played great baseball this home stand. That came to a head last night when former Nat Erick Fedde threw a complete game shutout in his return to DC. Last night might have been the worst the Nationals have played this season, and they have to bounce back today.
From the first pitch, which was a fastball Mitchell Parker spiked into the dirt, the Cardinals were in complete control. Parker’s struggles continued last night. In his last three starts, Parker has allowed 15 runs in 13 innings. After throwing nine of his first 10 pitches for balls, Parker locked in with his command, not walking another batter. However, he was not fooling many Cardinal hitters.
The Red Birds were playing much more fundamentally sound baseball as well. It seemed like they were constantly moving guys over and driving guys in. They were hitting sac flies with less than two outs, something the Nats could not do in the first inning, their only real opportunity to score.
Other than CJ Abrams, the offense completely no-showed. Without Alex Call in the lineup, it seemed like there was a drop off in the quality of at bats. The bullpen also did its thing, give up runs.
It was a stinker last night, but the Nats need to turn the page. If they can win the next two games, nobody will remember this disastrous effort. It is a big game for Trevor Williams, who the Nats really need to have a good start. With an ERA of 5.86, but a FIP of 4.18 and an xERA of 3.70, Williams has gotten unlucky this season. Maybe this is the start where the veteran could turn it around.
It would be very nice to see because the Nats have lost three in a row and want to avoid a big time losing streak. After a solid road trip and a fun win in game one of the double header against Cleveland, the vibes were high, but the Nats have really come back down to earth these last couple days.
So far in May, the pitching staff has been a major issue, allowing 51 runs in 8 games. That is about 6.3 runs per game, which is simply not good enough. While the bullpen has certainly been a big part of the issue, the rotation has not been as good as they were in April.
They are still 4-4 on the month, but if they keep bleeding runs like this, that will not last. It has been an ugly last three games where all of the Nats flaws have been on display. However, if they come out with a strong performance today and tomorrow, a lot of these sins will be forgiven.