ARLINGTON, Texas – Blake Butera was more nervous than usual as he watched Cade Cavalli take the mound Wednesday night. Not that he doesn’t have faith in his burgeoning ace to dominate any lineup he faces at this point, but several potential warning flags were on the Nationals manager’s mind as this game commenced.
Cavalli is now in the final stretch of his first full MLB season, his workload reaching numbers some wondered if he’d ever stay healthy enough to reach. The Nats have no plans to shut down him before season’s end, but they’re acutely aware of the fact he’s now in uncharted territory.
And then on top of all that, Cavalli was pitching for the first time since his brilliant no-hit bid against the Cubs, one that saw him carry a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ultimately throw a career-high 103 pitches.
“This is the hardest game for those guys to pitch: the one right after that,” Butera said. “And to be able to come out here and do what he did when we needed him to was huge from Cade.”
Yes, all those concerns were unfounded. Because right now, nothing seems to be standing in the way of this 28-year-old finally realizing his full potential. The Cubs couldn’t do it last week in D.C. And the Rangers certainly couldn’t do it Wednesday night in Texas.
