Instant Analysis: Nats 10, Mariners 1
Miles Mikolas cruised, James Wood and Keibert Ruiz homered and the Nationals improved to 8-1-1 over their last 10 series
It appears reports of the Nationals’ demise were premature.
Just when it looked like they might not be able to recover from back-to-back ugly losses, the Nats bounced back with a pair of convincing wins over another quality opponent. Behind seven shutout innings from Miles Mikolas, home runs from James Wood and Keibert Ruiz and a rapid-fire, five-run rally in between, they overwhelmed the Mariners this afternoon to improve to 8-1-1 over their last 10 series and get back to two games over .500 (the position they were in before Wednesday’s historic collapse in San Francisco).
They actually trailed this game briefly when opener PJ Poulin allowed a run in the top of the first. But Wood answered right back with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first before Blake Butera gave the ball to Mikolas. The veteran right-hander gave no reason to give the ball back to his manager, posting zero after zero and barely breaking a sweat on a sweltering hot June afternoon.
The lineup fully supported Mikolas with a sustained rally in the bottom of the fourth, aggressively going after Seattle starter Emerson Hancock with five consecutive hits on five pitches. Ruiz, who had one of those hits, added a solo homer in the seventh to extend the lead and give Butera reason to let Mikolas stay in the game until the ninth.
HITTING HIGHLIGHT: The five-run bottom of the fourth was one of the craziest rallies you’ll ever see. Because it happened in such rapid fashion, it was hard to keep up. The Nationals sent 10 men to the plate that inning, and collectively they only saw 17 pitches from Hancock. Seven of the last eight batters in the inning put the first pitch they saw into play. That’s not normally a plan for success, but clearly the Nats intended to be that aggressive against Hancock, who isn’t known for issuing walks. Might as well go after his first strike, right? The rally was ignited by Dylan Crews’ leadoff double over the left fielder’s head, then featured four consecutive hits from CJ Abrams, Ruiz, Daylen Lile and Nasim Nunez, followed by Jorbit Vivas’ run-scoring fielder’s choice. It was one of the Nationals’ best rallies of the season, and it didn’t involve a home run.
PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: Mikolas has made steady improvement over the last month-plus, but he took it to a whole new level today. The Mariners managed only three hits off him, all singles. Only one reached scoring position. Nobody drew a walk. Mikolas was so efficient, Butera had no real reason to consider pulling him the way he often does after four or five innings. With his team comfortably ahead, he just let the veteran keep going and was rewarded for his display of faith. Over his last 11 games, Mikolas now owns a 3.38 ERA and 0.956 WHIP, a remarkable turnaround after a wretched start to his season.
NOTABLE: Wood (who went 3-for-4 with a walk and was a triple shy of the cycle) leads all NL outfielders in runs, homers, walks, on-base percentage and OPS. His .972 OPS trails only Shohei Ohtani. And perhaps most impressively, he’s now scored 13 more runs than any other player in baseball.
UP NEXT: The Royals come to town for a three-game interleague series. Andrew Alvarez starts Monday’s 6:45 p.m. opener. Kansas City has not yet named its starter. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
I'm old enough to remember when Mikolas was the worst acquisition the Nats made, ever.
I never thought I would be casting all star votes for Ruiz. But he deserves it.