Instant Analysis: Nats 10, Cubs 4
Behind a surprise power display from Joey Wiemer and Jacob Young and 16 outs from the bullpen, the Nationals pulled off an impressive Opening Day win
CHICAGO – Blake Butera has made it clear all along he wants his entire 26-man roster to contribute, with everyone getting opportunities whether that comes in the lineup, off the bench, in the starting rotation or out of the bullpen. The rookie manager showed everyone just what that could look like during the Nationals’ victory over the Cubs in an impressive Opening Day showing for the plucky young visitors. With early home runs from the unlikely duo of Joey Wiemer and Jacob Young and a six-run rally that also included clutch hits from Andrés Chaparro, Daylen Lile and CJ Abrams, the Nats jumped out to a big lead and knocked out Matthew Boyd in the top of the fourth. Cade Cavalli showed off his elite repertoire but had to work to get through 3 2/3 innings. That put the pressure on Butera’s bullpen to provide 16 outs on a cold, windy day at Wrigley. That group managed to piece it together, behind the efforts of PJ Poulin (three outs), Brad Lord (seven outs), Clayton Beeter (three outs) and Cionel Pérez (three outs). By the time Pérez finished things off in the bottom of the ninth, only a fraction of the sellout crowd of 39,712 was still in the park, shivering and befuddled by this unexpected outcome.
HITTING HIGHLIGHT: Butera’s lineup may have looked unconventional, but you can’t argue with the early results against Boyd. Surprise No. 2 batter Chaparro doubled, singled and drove a ball to the warning track in center that might’ve been a homer if not for the wind. Surprise No. 5 batter Wiemer homered right into the wind for the Nats’ first run of the season and then later singled and drew a walk. And typical No. 9 batter Young did the unthinkable and hit the sixth home run of a major-league career that includes more than 1,000 plate appearances. Butera said he chose this lineup specifically because of the way it matched up with Boyd. There wasn’t much contact the first time through the order (seven of the first 10 batters struck out), but the second time through featured all kinds of loud contact, producing all those runs. Brady House then added a two-run, opposite-field homer in the ninth to secure the biggest offensive output in Nationals Opening Day history. Maybe there was some method to Butera’s madness.
PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: His final line (three runs in 3 2/3 innings on 75 pitches) doesn’t look so great, but Cavalli showed a lot of good stuff today in his first career Opening Day start. His fastball averaged 97 mph and topped out at 99 mph. Twenty of his 28 fastballs were strikes. His changeup reached 91 mph and induced a couple of big whiffs. He had to work out of a couple of jams. And if not for the wind, he might’ve kept that pitch count more in check and given himself a chance to pitch a little deeper in the game. All in all, that was a successful season debut for the new staff ace.
NOTABLE: The Nationals went 2-for-3 on the first ABS challenges in team history. Keibert Ruiz got a ball changed to a strike in the bottom of the first, and Abrams got a strike changed to a ball in the top of the sixth. But Luis García Jr. couldn’t get a strike call overturned in the top of the ninth, ruining a potential perfect ABS game.
UP NEXT: The day off after Opening Day is always weird, but given how cold it’s supposed to be around here, the Nats probably aren’t complaining about having Friday off. They’ll return Saturday at 2:20 p.m. EDT for Game 2 of the season, with Miles Mikolas making his debut against Chicago right-hander Cade Horton. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
Gotta be one of the more uplifting games that I’ve ever watched.
Baseball’s back baby!!
Really happy for Young. We've heard a lot about how much he's been working on his swing and trying to bring up the offensive side of the game. Good start!