Instant Analysis: Twins 11, Nats 3
A four-run, 40-pitch, top of the fourth doomed Cade Cavalli, and the Nationals couldn't make up the deficit in their series opener vs. Minnesota
Cade Cavalli saw his brief, dominant run come to an abrupt halt during one agonizingly long inning tonight. And the Nationals never recovered, suffering a lopsided loss to the Twins in the opener of this interleague series.
After back-to-back, 10-strikeout games against the Braves and Mets, Cavalli saw it all come undone tonight during a 40-pitch top of the fourth that only included one hard-hit ball (Trevor Larnach’s two-run double) but also included three walks and a fielding error on the pitcher. Cavalli wound up allowing six runs (three earned) overall.
The Nationals scored a quick run off Taj Bradley in the bottom of the first but squandered opportunities to score more before the Minnesota starter found his groove. Bradley wound up retiring 15 of the last 17 batters he faced, completing six innings on 96 pitches after throwing 51 just to get through his first two frames.
Relievers Andre Granillo and Orlando Ribalta denied the Nats lineup any outside shot at a late rally, giving up a combined five runs over the final three innings, including Byron Buxton’s three-run homer in the eighth. Thus did the home team fall to 4-13 on South Capitol Street this season.
HITTING LOWLIGHT: The bottom line says the Nats barely touched Bradley, totaling two runs on four hits over six innings. Truthfully, though, they had the Twins right-hander on the ropes early and failed to make the most of it. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position through the first two innings. And four of those six at-bats were not close to productive: a groundball to first by Jorbit Vivas, plus strikeouts by Jacob Young, Keibert Ruiz and Daylen Lile. CJ Abrams got an RBI despite hitting a grounder to the drawn-in second baseman, and James Wood drove a ball to the warning track in left. Who knows how the rest of the game would’ve played out. But it sure would’ve been nice to see how it played out with the Nats having scored three, four or more runs early instead of just the one.
PITCHING LOWLIGHT: Things were looking so good for Cavalli early on tonight. He retired the first five batters he faced on a scant 11 pitches, looking like he was going to pick up right where he left off in his last two dominant starts. But some bad luck led to a pair of runs in the second. And then a series of unfortunate events led to four more runs (and a ton of pitches) in the fourth. Some of it (two 66-mph groundballs that weren’t converted into outs) weren’t really Cavalli’s fault. But he also issued three walks that inning, not to mention a two-run double on an 0-2 curveball. All of a sudden, he needed 40 pitches just to complete the inning, which prompted Blake Butera to go to his bullpen for the fifth. It was a real step backward after those real steps forward that preceded this game.
NOTABLE: The Nationals officially announced the signing of reliever Max Kranick to a one-year deal with a club option for 2027. Kranick, 28, had a 3.65 ERA and 1.054 WHIP in 24 games for the Mets last season before undergoing elbow surgery. He’ll immediately go on the 15-day IL to continue his rehab. But because they also needed to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for him, the Nats designated 2019 first-round pick Jackson Rutledge for assignment.
UP NEXT: The series continues Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. Miles Mikolas is the scheduled starter for the Nationals (unless they decide to give him an opener again). Right-hander Bailey Ober gets the ball for the Twins. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
How many major league starts does Cade have? Like 18-ish? Not even a full season. We all want him to be a consistent and dominant ace, but although older, he is still learning. He’ll be fine. He is a dedicated and eager student of the game.
Maybe they should do like football and have the players stay in a hotel even when they are at home