(Not Quite) Instant Analysis: Nats 8, Rockies 0

Cade Cavalli tossed six scoreless and bought time for the lineup to explode late as the Nationals finished off a winning road trip

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

DENVER – When they really needed a win to ensure a successful road trip and not lose ground in the wild-card race, the Nationals turned to their best young starter and a lineup that needed a bit more time than usual to put up its usual run totals.

Behind six scoreless innings from Cade Cavalli and seven late runs from their explosive offense, the Nats turned a tight game into a rout this afternoon at Coors Field. They head home having gone 4-2 on this Western trip to open the second half, and they head home at 52-51, right in the thick of a wide-open race for the NL’s third and final wild-card berth.

“This felt like a really important game for us,” manager Blake Butera said. “I’m sure they all are, hopefully, down the stretch. But for whatever reason, this one felt like it was extremely important for us to come out with a win. And we leaned on (Cavalli), and he answered for us.”

On the heels of a disappointing, 8-7 loss Tuesday night, the Nationals knew the importance of today’s series finale. And while their offense took its time trying to get going on another hot Denver afternoon, they relied on Cavalli to lead the way with a string of zeros on the mound.

The young right-hander struck out eight over his six scoreless frames, lowering his ERA to 3.58 and continuing a strong midseason run that has turned him into just as reliable a starter as All-Star Foster Griffin.

“Unbelievable,” first baseman Luis García Jr. said. “Every time he goes to the mound, he’s throwing seven, eight, six innings.”

The Nats needed Cavalli to be that good today, because all they managed for six innings at the plate was James Wood’s sacrifice fly and a slim 1-0 lead. They finally exploded late, scoring six runs in the top of the seventh via a few clutch hits (headlined by Luis García Jr.’s 21st homer of the season) and three Colorado errors.

And thanks to scoreless relief from Eddy Yean and Max Kranick, the Nationals emerged with the rarest of rarities: A shutout win at Coors Field, only the second in club history.

“The series was on the line,” Cavalli said. “You want to go win every series. We knew that. Each day is a special opportunity to go win a ballgame. I think it’s great treating each day like that, and that’s what we did today.”

HITTING HIGHLIGHT: It took them a while to get going. But once they did, it was worth the wait. For six innings, the Nationals were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, their only run scoring via sacrifice fly. But then came the top of the seventh, which began with a nice display of patience from Daylen Lile and Jorbit Vivas to draw walks. Nasim Nuñez delivered the team’s long-awaited first clutch hit with a groundball single to left, driving in one run and then watching Vivas score as well when Mickey Moniak made a mess of the play.

García Jr. put a definitive stamp on things with his no-doubt homer to right-center off Jimmy Herget. And then, just for good measure, the Nats scored two more runs on Dylan Crews’ RBI single to center, with the Rockies committing two more errors on the play to help turn a 1-0 game into a 7-0 game.

“It’s like a ticking timebomb. We’re sitting in the dugout like, we know it’s going to happen. There’s no doubt,” Cavalli said. “Their pitchers did a great job, and give them credit. But our offense got to them. It’s just kind of what they do.”

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: Though he faced traffic all afternoon, Cavalli looked like he was in control throughout. His fastball had life, his curveball had break (despite the thin air) and he got outs when he needed them. Without needing to rely on his defense. The Rockies went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position through the first four innings, and Cavalli recorded five of those outs via strikeout.

“His stuff is so good, and it feels like he’s able to take it to another level when guys do get in scoring position,” Butera said. “He made some big pitches for us.”

He walked off the mound at the end of the sixth with his pitch count at 90, and in what was still a 1-0 game, Butera was prepared to send him back out for the seventh. But thanks to his teammates’ six-run rally, Cavalli was afforded the opportunity to call it a day. He wound up only the second pitcher in club history to throw six scoreless innings at Coors Field, joining Tony Armas Jr. of the inaugural 2005 Nats (who also won that game, 8-0).

“Coming in, I knew the shapes of pitches were going to be a little different because of the air,” he said. “But we needed a big win today, and our defense played great, our bats came alive as always. I was glad I was able to keep us in the game.”

NOTABLE: The Nationals announced they signed 18 of their 20 draft picks, agreeing to terms with everyone except two late-round, high-school picks: outfielder Anthony Murphy and shortstop Isaiah Galason.

UP NEXT: The Nats should enjoy their day off, because they open a stretch of 17 games in 17 days when they host the Diamondbacks on Friday at 6:45 p.m. Zack Littell (or an opener) will get the start, with Foster Griffin and Miles Mikolas listed as probable starters for the rest of the weekend. Arizona has not yet announced its rotation plans. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM