Washington Nationals news & notes: Jake Irvin & Nats shut out Dodgers, 2-0, take 2 of 3 in LA…

Notes and quotes from the series finale in Chavez Ravine…

ABRAMS UP TOP:

CJ Abrams took a four-game hit streak into the series finale in LA, with five of six hits over the four games extra bases hits, (three doubles, a triple, and a HR). Abrams, 23, extended the streak early in the third of three in Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, taking the debuting Dodgers’ starter Landon Knack’s second pitch, a 1-0 fastball pretty much down the middle to right-center field (392 ft. from home) for a leadoff home run, and a 1-0 lead early in the rubber match of the series. It was the 5th home run of the year for Abrams, who didn’t hit his 5th last season until May 23rd.

Jesse Winker started the day leading Major League Baseball in OBP (.500), and he’d reached base in 14 of his 16 games on the year, including eight straight going into the matchup, then he singled after Abrams’ home run, reaching base for the ninth straight and 15th of 17 so far, before eventually scoring.

Winker moved to third base on a one-out single by Luis García, and he scored on a sac fly to center off of Joey Meneses’s bat, putting Washington up 2-0 early in Los Angeles…

IRVIN ROLLING:

Jake Irvin, 27, struck out five and gave up one earned run on a solo homer in six innings on the mound against Oakland in the A’s home on the second stop on the Nationals’ road trip, giving up the run in the third, and then wrapping up his third start of the season with three scoreless innings in which he threw just 33 pitches.

Overall in the outing, he got up to 74 pitches total (after throwing 93 total in six innings in his previous start), and the right-hander was efficient again in the series finale in Dodger Stadium yesterday.

Irvin kept the Dodgers off the board through six innings, which he completed on 73 total pitches, giving up just four hits and a walk while striking out six of the 22 batters he went against.

The Nationals’ 6’6’’ starter generated 11 swinging strikes overall, nine on his fastball, which he threw 56% of the time, collecting 7 of 15 called strikes on the pitch, mixing in his curve, (22%, 7 called strikes), sinker (14%), and cutter (8%), in a low-key dominant start.

Manager Davey Martinez decided that was enough for the second-year major leaguer, going to his bullpen with a 2-0 lead in the seventh. Robert Garcia got two outs in the seventh, and Hunter Harvey finished off the innings before tossing a scoreless eighth, then Kyle Finnegan wrapped up the first shutout of the Dodgers’ this season with a scoreless ninth inning to get the save.

“Thank you Jake Irvin, Harvey, Finnegan, and Garcia,” the Nats’ skipper said after the game, a win which gave the club a winning (5-4) road trip through San Francisco, Oakland, and LA.

“They were good. They were good, man. Like I said, it’s about pounding that strike zone, and they did well.”

It all started with Irv—-

Actually, it started with Abrams’ first inning home run.

“For us,” Martinez said, “and I always say this with CJ: He’s so aggressive, I tell him just get the ball in the strike zone and look for a fastball. And he does a great job. And I don’t mind him swinging at first pitches, second pitches, just get a ball you think you can hit and be ready for it.”

“I mean, it was a righty with a pretty straight fastball,” Abrams said, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman after the game, so he jumped on it.

“I wanted to zone him in, and get a good pitch to hit, and I got it second pitch.”

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Irvin and the Nationals’ bullpen made the 2-0 advantage hold up against a tough LA lineup.

“I’ve talked to you guys about competing over the plate,” Irvin said, as quoted on MASN.

“And that was the goal today: Just compete over the plate. I can’t create swing-and-miss; it just happens. Just doing my job competing over the plate, and let the rest work itself out.”

“He’s been unbelievable,” Martinez said. “He really has. He’s been outstanding, actually. He just — he keeps getting better and better. The confidence keeps growing.”

“I can’t say enough about what he’s done so far,” the manager added. “He’s learned a lot. We talked about his growth last year, what he wanted to accomplish this year, and so far he’s on the right path.”

And what was he doing right in Dodger Stadium?

“He was using using his fastball, both in and out, attacking the zone, when he needed to throw a breaking ball he did. But his fastball was electric today, it really was. So, he kept himself out of trouble, which we talked [about] at lot, instead of that big inning.

“He did that today.”