I thought Lovelady was brought in to face Crawford but Phillies countered tiwht pinch hitting Hill. At that point, Butera had no choice but watch it unfold... Sadly...
YES, IBB Schwarber and leave Ribalta in there, he was pitching OK. Lovelady just is NOT good enough for the 8th or 9th innings!! Butera blew it tonight.
Yes, that’s true, but changing pitchers just to chase a matchup especially with someone who had pitched the previous two nights didn’t seem like a good decision.
At some point, you have to remember these are real people, not video game pieces or numbers on a spreadsheet. None of these guys are Superman. You can’t just keep running the same reliever out there night after night because the matchup looks good on paper.
He’s made this mistake twice now, and both times it came back to bite him. How many times does it have to happen before he learns?
Butera jeopardizing his manager of the year award with these head-scratching moves. Lovelady was one of the guys who blew the game yesterday and you’re bringing him back in.
I understand, Kathy Friend. I had trouble watching last night too. I have trouble anytime the Nats are leading by fewer than 4 runs in the 9th. But then I had a conversation with myself and I am working on caring just a tad less about losing. To be a good loyal fan, you have to find a balance between caring and realizing it is a game that is meant to be enjoyable. Maybe I am perverse, but there is some gallows humor lurking in the Nats bullpen woes.
Blame the owners. Can't expect anything from this bullpen. Traded best arm and then spent zippy. Nothing. A modest $20MM would have gotten a real closer and set up man.
I think first game that Butera is going to have to wear, and I hope he gets asked about it.
It’s Justin Crawford. Does he hit righties better than lefties? Sure. Does he hit them well? To the terrifying tune of: .373 SLG, .685 OPS.
I get matchups. I agree with the science behind them. I advocate for them in most cases. I don’t advocate for them when it’s against a glove-first 8-hole hitter.
Bullpen this, bullpen that, it sucks, but this was a loss on two fronts. The game, and Ribaltas confidence. Cruised past the first two, and only struggled bc he had a behemoth at the plate. To not be trusted with a pull-side hitter when you have Nasim’s defense against a guy with a 53.9% groundball rate, is unfathomable to me. Harper at the plate, Marsh at the plate, you trot out Lovelady. Not here.
First game where I’m truly disappointed in Butera. I’m loving this season, but we can’t be over managing in situations like that.
Since these last 2 have been a playoff-type atmosphere, I wonder if this was the pressure of the situations getting to Butera? But if so, then Michael Johns, the bench coach, should be the one talking him down.
He’s a rookie manager, so he’s learning on the job, too. Good news is he’s humble and analytical enough to learn…..maybe the only guy in a leadership position in all of DC to fit that description.
So why not save Ribalta's arm by IBB-ing Schwarbs and then he pitches to Hill. Lovelady should only be used in the 6th or 7th innings, not later in the game.
Too much reliance on left/right matchups. Sometimes it’s stuff over matchups. Philly isn’t taking Duran out cuz he’s facing James Wood. Going from Ribalta to Lovelady is a significant downgrade.
Do you think Nats ownership even watches the games? The ownership box on suite level is generally empty for most games. I seriously doubt they feel our pain.
The kids don’t seem to care since Rizzo finally got the WS championship that Daddy wanted so badly. And yes, Ted was one of the best owners in pro sports. The kids though are gonna have to prove it to me that they want to maintain that Lerner Legacy that Ted built.
dc—Mark Lerner and his sisters would not know a baseball if it hit them in the bass. They are incompetent misers who are just trying to squeeze the fans for every penny they can. Unless and until the press starts holding them accountable this tragedy will continue. Rest assured the generational talent will leave at their first opportunity and no self respecting FA will ever sign with the Nats. This team is one or two above average relievers shy of truly being competitive for the post season. But just today and true to form the Nat scraped the waiver wire for a thrice DFAed pitcher.😡😡😡
For those dumping on Lovelady, he struck out the only two batters he faced on Monday to help lock up that victory. They don’t win game 1 of this series without his contributions.
Yes but it's entirely possible they win games 2 and 3 if he doesn't pitch. He's been absolutely awful all year and does not deserve to have a major league job.
So Nats fans suffer through our 23rd blown save. I just looked it up. Phillies’ Duran has 1 blown save in 25 save attempts this year. Why are Nats fans asked to eat it every year with no serious attempt to build a major league bullpen?
Sadly, over the years, our boys don’t have the greatest record vs. Baltimore either….I would have been thrilled with 3-4 this week, but I think 2-5 or 1-6 far more likely….
Light hitting Derek Hill has a history of crushing LHP
Someone shoulda told Butera.
I thought that’s what analytics were for 😂
I thought Lovelady was brought in to face Crawford but Phillies countered tiwht pinch hitting Hill. At that point, Butera had no choice but watch it unfold... Sadly...
That is besides the point. Lover-man should not be used in the 8th or 9th.
I believe the Nats record vs Phillies this season when one strike away from the win is now 2-3.
Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, they now have 24 saves and 24 blown saves.
22 blown saves. They had 20 before Tuesday's game.
Ok sorry. So it's 23 now, because they had two blown saves Tuesday.
Aha yes. I forgot there were two in the same game. Ugh!
This one is also on Butera. Why the pitching change?
Pitch count
Butera has limited resources to draw from.
True but this was a terrible choice. Ribalta was at 23 pitches. And i would have IBB Schwarber
Ribalta had two strikes on Schwarber (full count). As much as Schwarber can hit one out, he strikes out as well!
YES, IBB Schwarber and leave Ribalta in there, he was pitching OK. Lovelady just is NOT good enough for the 8th or 9th innings!! Butera blew it tonight.
Right. Then Ribalta can pitch to Hill
Yes, that’s true, but changing pitchers just to chase a matchup especially with someone who had pitched the previous two nights didn’t seem like a good decision.
At some point, you have to remember these are real people, not video game pieces or numbers on a spreadsheet. None of these guys are Superman. You can’t just keep running the same reliever out there night after night because the matchup looks good on paper.
He’s made this mistake twice now, and both times it came back to bite him. How many times does it have to happen before he learns?
Precisely!
Mark, how many game report drafts have you torn up in the past 24 hours?
How do you know he doesn’t just pull out the tried and true “the Nats gave away another win with a bullpen that can’t get it done”. So predictable.
Butera jeopardizing his manager of the year award with these head-scratching moves. Lovelady was one of the guys who blew the game yesterday and you’re bringing him back in.
Genuinely this BETTER be a wake up call to Toboni tht some of these relievers cannot be here.
Positives; Carson palmquist looked good and AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE. Luis also white hot rn.
But fix this bullpen dude.
Lovelady grooved two strikes right down the middle, so it was just a matter of time before he got lit up.
Not much to say other than the Nats pitching weaknesses are well known. Not enough swing and miss arms to call upon when needed.
This is so unacceptable and disgusting. It’s so disrespectful to the position players who score runs every night. I’m tired of saying it.
I hear ya. At some point somone has to want to make better decisions.
And to the fans! I couldn’t watch last night after the huge letdown Tuesday. Giving me all the Storen feels and I never want to do that again!!
I understand, Kathy Friend. I had trouble watching last night too. I have trouble anytime the Nats are leading by fewer than 4 runs in the 9th. But then I had a conversation with myself and I am working on caring just a tad less about losing. To be a good loyal fan, you have to find a balance between caring and realizing it is a game that is meant to be enjoyable. Maybe I am perverse, but there is some gallows humor lurking in the Nats bullpen woes.
Sigh-you’re 100% right, I know. I tell myself you can’t really enjoy the ups without going through the downs, but it’s ROUGH!
Lovelady has been garbage all year. Why would any sane person ever trust him in a leverage situation?
Agree!
Blame the owners. Can't expect anything from this bullpen. Traded best arm and then spent zippy. Nothing. A modest $20MM would have gotten a real closer and set up man.
I think first game that Butera is going to have to wear, and I hope he gets asked about it.
It’s Justin Crawford. Does he hit righties better than lefties? Sure. Does he hit them well? To the terrifying tune of: .373 SLG, .685 OPS.
I get matchups. I agree with the science behind them. I advocate for them in most cases. I don’t advocate for them when it’s against a glove-first 8-hole hitter.
Bullpen this, bullpen that, it sucks, but this was a loss on two fronts. The game, and Ribaltas confidence. Cruised past the first two, and only struggled bc he had a behemoth at the plate. To not be trusted with a pull-side hitter when you have Nasim’s defense against a guy with a 53.9% groundball rate, is unfathomable to me. Harper at the plate, Marsh at the plate, you trot out Lovelady. Not here.
First game where I’m truly disappointed in Butera. I’m loving this season, but we can’t be over managing in situations like that.
Ribalta looked good. Better than Lovelady ever would.
Since these last 2 have been a playoff-type atmosphere, I wonder if this was the pressure of the situations getting to Butera? But if so, then Michael Johns, the bench coach, should be the one talking him down.
Who knows?
He’s a rookie manager, so he’s learning on the job, too. Good news is he’s humble and analytical enough to learn…..maybe the only guy in a leadership position in all of DC to fit that description.
Why did they take Ribalta out
Should listen to Phillies broadcast, a joy and Kruck is like Bob Ueker..
Pathetic bullpen and Manager decision.
Butera said postgame that he wasn’t pushing Ribalta any further because of his injury issues this season.
So why not save Ribalta's arm by IBB-ing Schwarbs and then he pitches to Hill. Lovelady should only be used in the 6th or 7th innings, not later in the game.
Why IBB when you can possibly strike him out? If he hits it out, it’s only a tie game. IBB automatically brings the go ahead run to the plate.
IBB so you can have Ribalta pitch to Hill. Ribalta was doing well.
Exactly. Why in the world are you pitching to Schwarber? Put him on and keep Ribalta in the game at 13 pitches, not 23.
Too much reliance on left/right matchups. Sometimes it’s stuff over matchups. Philly isn’t taking Duran out cuz he’s facing James Wood. Going from Ribalta to Lovelady is a significant downgrade.
Yup, 100%
What about instincts and feel for the game/situation…the intangibles. Modern analytics killed those.
Geezzz, I hope not!
Do you think Nats ownership even watches the games? The ownership box on suite level is generally empty for most games. I seriously doubt they feel our pain.
The kids don’t seem to care since Rizzo finally got the WS championship that Daddy wanted so badly. And yes, Ted was one of the best owners in pro sports. The kids though are gonna have to prove it to me that they want to maintain that Lerner Legacy that Ted built.
dc—Mark Lerner and his sisters would not know a baseball if it hit them in the bass. They are incompetent misers who are just trying to squeeze the fans for every penny they can. Unless and until the press starts holding them accountable this tragedy will continue. Rest assured the generational talent will leave at their first opportunity and no self respecting FA will ever sign with the Nats. This team is one or two above average relievers shy of truly being competitive for the post season. But just today and true to form the Nat scraped the waiver wire for a thrice DFAed pitcher.😡😡😡
For those dumping on Lovelady, he struck out the only two batters he faced on Monday to help lock up that victory. They don’t win game 1 of this series without his contributions.
Yes but it's entirely possible they win games 2 and 3 if he doesn't pitch. He's been absolutely awful all year and does not deserve to have a major league job.
He wasn’t awful on Monday.
A broken clock is right twice a day.
Lovelady has 7 saves this season.
He has 7 meltdowns and a 5.63 xERA. His total WPA is -0.11. He is terrible.
He was DFA'ed five times by the Mets in the past year, and by the Nats in Spring Training 2026. That tells me something.
Loveland has 7 save opportunities this season: with 4 saves and 3 blown saves. Not very good at all.
So Nats fans suffer through our 23rd blown save. I just looked it up. Phillies’ Duran has 1 blown save in 25 save attempts this year. Why are Nats fans asked to eat it every year with no serious attempt to build a major league bullpen?
You’re defending Lovelady? Did you watch Phillies Duran mow down the Nats in bottom of the 9th? Nats win last 2 games with a closer like Duran.
Not defending Lovelady just trying to inject some statistical facts into the discussion. I understand how we’re all upset. I am too!
Lovelady has 7 saves this season and picked up a hold on Monday night contributing to the win.
I'm just gonna skip tomorrow's game and watch again Friday at Baltimore. I've had enough of Philly.
Sadly, over the years, our boys don’t have the greatest record vs. Baltimore either….I would have been thrilled with 3-4 this week, but I think 2-5 or 1-6 far more likely….
Lovelady does not have 7 saves. He has 4 saves and 3 blown saves