(Not Quite) Instant Analysis: Yankees 4, Nats 2
Blake Butera tried the opposite approach Saturday and used his best righty relievers to try to close out a win. The end result was exactly the same.
This time, Blake Butera went with his best right-handed relievers in hopes of preserving a late lead against the Yankees. And this time, those right-handers were the ones giving up the home runs that dealt the Nationals yet another soul-crushing loss.
Not 24 hours after getting burned by the organization’s preferred method of seeking platoon advantages whenever possible, Butera decided to hand a two-run lead in the eighth to right-handers Orlando Ribalta and Clayton Beeter. Those two proceeded to surrender three home runs in the span of four batters to hand New York a 4-2 win that can only leave Butera and the Nationals numb with disbelief at this point.
“I’m searching right now,” Butera said. “I talked about it after last night’s game, obviously reevaluating what we’re doing. And today, you saw we had a little different approach there at the end. Wanted to give our best relievers a shot to help us win the game. And it didn’t go our way.”
Facing three straight left-handed batters, Ribalta served up a solo homer to Ryan McMahon and then walked Ben Rice. So Butera then turned to Beeter, who got the final out of the eighth Friday night but deferred to lefty Matt Krook to blow the save in the ninth. Beeter immediately served up the go-ahead homer to Trent Grisham, then a tack-on homer to Paul Goldschmidt as the pro-Yankees portion of the crowd of 34,054 rejoiced while the home fans watched in astonishment.
“To be honest, I’d throw the exact same pitch. Every single pitch I threw today, I felt like, were good pitches,” he said. “I felt like my mindset was great. My velo was good. I think they just had a good approach, and sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap.”
This was the Nats’ 27th blown save of the season, 10 shy of the MLB record. (Blown saves can occur prior to the ninth inning, as was the case today.)
“I think our mindset’s in a great spot,” Beeter said. “No one’s scared to go out there. We all have confidence in ourselves. Just a little snake-bit right now, and in a rough patch.”
Just as they did Friday night, the Nationals put themselves in an advantageous position thanks to another solid pitching performance from an opener (PJ Poulin) and bulk reliever (Miles Mikolas). And they took the lead with two rapid-fire homers of their own, this time right off the bat in the first inning from James Wood and Curtis Mead.
The Nats, though, squandered several opportunities to extend their lead, stranding runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and seventh innings. And that only added pressure to their bullpen to make a minimal lead hold up.
“They know. They feel that,” Butera said of a Nationals lineup that leads the majors in runs scored but often needs to produce even more to compensate for the team’s relief woes. “They’re trying to put up as many runs as they possibly can. It’s why we have the lead there, and CJ goes down with the bases loaded, and he’s as frustrated as possible, because he knows how important those runs are. These guys feel it.”
HITTING HIGHLIGHT: The offense came early, and it came with some authority. Wood wasted no time, jumping on Schlittler’s first-pitch, 99-mph fastball and sending it flying to right-center for yet another leadoff homer. And Mead kept it going when he hammered a 1-1 cutter to left, making in 2-0 and putting a scare in the Yankees starter. After that? Well, they didn’t do much. They had a pair of golden opportunities, twice loading the bases, only to come away with nothing. Nasim Nuñez popped out on the first pitch he saw in the fourth, letting Schlittler off the hook. And CJ Abrams struck out on the seventh pitch of a long at-bat against lefty Brent Headrick in the seventh, leaving this a 2-0 game.
PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: As was the case Friday night, the opener and bulk reliever more than did enough to give their team a chance to win. Poulin, who specifically wasn’t used in the top of the ninth the previous night, gave the Nats 1 2/3 scoreless innings as opener, retiring the last five batters he faced. Mikolas then took over and churned out four innings of scoreless ball on 59 pitches, keeping the Yankees in check despite recording zero strikeouts.
NOTABLE: Wood has seven homers, 15 walks and 18 runs scored over his last 12 games. The only other MLB player to do that since 2000 is Barry Bonds (twice).
UP NEXT: The series – and the season’s first half – ends Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Cade Cavalli, whose five-game suspension has now ended, will get the ball for the Nats. Right-hander Will Warren starts for the Yankees. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM
When the manager says he is searching for answers, that’s when management helps their manager out and actually gets someone that can close a game.
It didn't help that the park was so full of NYY fans. The cheer that went up when the game ended was absolutely deafening. Frankly, I hope it made the guys -- and Toboni! -- sick. Nobody should have to hear that at home.