(Not quite) Instant Analysis: Royals 6, Nats 2
Zack Littell gave up four early solo homers, and the Nationals never recovered while missing another chance at a series sweep
The Nationals keep winning two out of three against most foes, and that’s a fantastic way to enjoy sustained success and a real shot at a spot in the postseason. But it’s getting kind of ridiculous how much they’ve struggled to win a third straight game against the same opponent.
For the sixth time in just over a month, the Nats took the field today seeking a series sweep. And for the sixth straight time, they lost the series finale.
“Every game matters,” manager Blake Butera said. “It’s great to win a series, but at the end of the day, we want to win every game that we possibly can. Leaving here without finishing the series, we feel like we didn’t finish our business.”
This one was never all that competitive. Zack Littell dug his team into an immediate hole when Carter Jensen led off the game with a homer down the right-field line. It became a recurring theme, with Littell ultimately allowing four home runs (each of them a solo shot) through his first three innings, with John Rave, Lane Thomas and Michael Massey also leaving the yard. The right-hander settled down enough to get through the fifth without any more damage, but he departed with his team trailing 4-0.
The same Nationals lineup that totaled 31 runs during a four-game winning streak looked feeble today against an unlikely opponent. Royals right-hander Luinder Avila, owner of a 6.19 ERA, 1.813 WHIP and a reputation for highly erratic command, carried a shutout into the sixth. The Nats finally got on the board via back-to-back, two-out RBI hits by CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews, but that wasn’t nearly enough to dig them out of their hole.
It also didn’t help when Mitchell Parker gave up two quick runs in relief of Littell, leaving his teammate to face a 6-0 deficit in the sixth. Thus did the Nationals leave the park disappointed today at their inability once again to pull off a sweep despite an otherwise fantastic homestand.
“It’s hard to beat a team one time in this league, let alone three times in a row,” right fielder James Wood said. “I think knowing that, and also knowing how close we are to closing out series, how much better that can make us.”
HITTING LOWLIGHT: Avila entered this game having walked 22 batters in only 32 MLB innings this season. And his strike zone plot this afternoon looked like what you might expect from a dizzy, blindfolded, 3-year-old playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. And yet the Nationals did not draw their first walk of the game until Curtis Mead reached with two outs in the sixth in what proved to be Avila’s final batter faced.
Maybe his stuff was deceptive, and maybe it was tough to pick up the spin of the ball on a bright afternoon. But at some point, the Nats’ best strategy against Kansas City’s starter might just have been to take every single pitch. Because he wasn’t hitting the strike zone nearly enough to have success on his own merits.
“It just felt like when he needed a strike, he was able to make a good pitch and land it and get himself back in the count,” said Wood, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. “I feel like he made pitches when he needed to.”
PITCHING LOWLIGHT: When Littell couldn’t make it out of the second inning last time out, the pertinent question became: Was that a one-off, or a sign of things devolving for the right-hander?
It’s still too soon to make any sweeping declarations, but Littell is certainly not heading down an encouraging path. His biggest issue during a miserable April (0-4, 7.85 ERA) was his inability to keep the ball in the park (he gave up 13 homers in only 28 2/3 innings). He managed to completely reverse that trend in May and his first June start (6-0, 2.27 ERA, two homers in 35 2/3 innings). But that old problem has resurfaced, and it was especially bad today with the Royals hammering almost everything he threw over the plate.
“Of course, over 30 starts you’re going to have days where you’re a little bit out of sync,” he said. “And frankly, I’ve been kind of due for one. Right away, I could kind of tell I didn’t have it. But I’ve still got to go out there and get outs, and I dug a little bit of a hole that we couldn’t get out of.”
Littell’s margin for error is razor-thin. He found a way to thrive on that edge for more than a month. He’s going to have to prove he can find his way back there again before his whole season comes undone.
“I think it’s a similar fix (to earlier this year),” Butera said. “But a lot of it is just working with him on what feels good, and mechanically making sure he feels like he’s in a good spot to be able to finish his pitches.”
NOTABLE: Making his first appearance out of the bullpen since Bryce Eldridge’s walk-off grand slam one week ago in San Francisco, Parker gave up two runs in two innings and saw his ERA climb to 6.09.
UP NEXT: The Nats head south for a quick, one-city road trip to Tampa Bay. Cade Cavalli will start Friday night’s 7:10 p.m. series opener at Tropicana Field against a to-be-named Rays pitcher. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
"This team needs to learn how to sweep series wins" is what I believe the kids call a "first world problem" and a far cry from the kinds of issues we were discussing 2-3 months ago :)
Just like "we need to learn how to win at home", they will figure it out.
I think the highest praise I can offer is that in previous (post-2019) years, checking in and finding out that the other team has a 6-0 lead would have immediately led to me calling it a day. Now, my first reaction is, "with this offense, that's not impossible." I would still prefer that we have better pitching, but it's nice not to assume immediate disaster.