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Nats Down Mets, 11-6

Washington scored four times in its first five “ups” to take a 9-3 lead and won their second straight game, 11-6.

Newcomer Shinnosuke Ogasawara worked around a two-out double to pitch a scoreless 1st, which “earned” him the ST win. He walked none and struck out none.

Once again Dylan Crews was the only watchlist player in the starting lineup, playing RF again and reaching base twice on a walk in the 1st and a triple in the 2nd. He stole a base and scored on a double play.

Seven pitchers were used today, with Brad Lord the only reliever to appear in multiple innings as he allowed a run on three hits and no walks. He struck out none.

Here’s a rundown of how the the rest of “our guys” did coming off the bench:

  • Andrew Pinckney subbed for Crews in RF and was 1-for-2 with two RBI
  • Yoyo Morales went to the other side of the diamond as the second third baseman and had an RBI double in three trips to the plate
  • Robert Hassell singled, doubled, stole a base, and scored twice while following Jacob Young in CF
  • Daylen Lile had an RBI single in his lone PA after taking over for Stone Garrett in LF
  • Cayden Wallace spelled Luis García at 2B and was 0-for-1 with a walk and a whiff
  • Jack Sinclair worked around two singles while putting up a donut in the 8th



The Nats are off tomorrow and travel to Jupiter on Tuesday to visit the Marlins. The first pitcher to appear in the game has not been announced.

9 Commments

  1. Really interesting to see them play Morales at 3B. In 2023, he played almost exclusively 3B, but in ’24 played only about a third of the time there. House should have the starting gig at Rochester, but it’ll be interesting to see how they manager Wallace and Morales’ playing time in Harrisburg.

    1. Oh, I didn’t catch that Wallace also played 2B… which is an even more interesting development.

      Wallace was actually primarily an OF in college, but seems to have never played 2B before.

      I wonder if this move was spurred by his injuries? Or just by the traffic jam at 3B? Either way, very interesting development. If any fellow readers manage to see the games, I’d be curious to hear how Wallace looks out there (same for Morales at 3B).

    2. Did Davy intentionally run out Lord on the Lords Day ?
      Any rumors floating around on any sage relievers Nats keeping an eye on if they hit the waiver wire later in Winds of March ?

      1. I really don’t even know where to begin with our bullpen situation at the moment. There’s still a few upside RPs available: David Robertson is the big catch, and there’s no one quite like the Nats with a vacancy at closer. Maybe they could work something out? But Kyle Finnegan also looks like he misplayed his hand this winter. Seems he’s holding out for an offer that will never come, when teammates of his last year, like Jacob Barnes, Dylan Floro and Tanner Rainey took minor league deals.

        As best I can tell, we have the following 5 RPs whose spot in the bullpen is certain:
        Jorge Lopez and Lucas Sims, for reasons not entirely clear to me, got $3m contracts, so Rizzo won’t be cutting bait on them for a while.
        Jose Ferrer and Derek Law earned a spot based on their solid 2024 (Law especially as he has no options remaining)
        Evan Reifert will also get a spot, unless he’s a total disaster in ST.

        So the remaining 3 spots are a free for all among like 15 possibilities:

        Make the most sense:
        Eduardo Salazar – he was pretty good last year, but had some worrisome peripherals, and still has options, so he’s not a lock
        Collin Poche – signed a minor league deal, so there’s no necessity he break camp in DC, but he probably negotiated a release clause if not
        Shinnosuke Ogasawara – Rizzo keeps talking about him as a SP, but he seems like a perfect reliever option

        Wildcard:
        Mike Soroka or DJ Herz/Mitchell Parker – again, Soroka being in the bullpen makes a ton of sense to me, but he’s been promised a spot in the rotation, so Herz or Parker (or less likely Irvin, only due to seniority) are going to be the odd man out. Herz needs to limit his innings, so there’s an unlikely scenario where they keep him on the major league roster out of the pen, but I’d rather they not jerk him around like that, given his potential

        Young guys, who will get a chance at some point:
        Zach Brzykcy – didn’t impress in his short cameo last year, but he’s probably got the best “stuff” among anyone on this list; still has options
        Orlando Ribalta – see above
        Cole Henry – see above, with the caveat he’s still returning from injury last season, so will likely be eased back
        Jack Sinclair – if Nats FO is ever willing to move him out of Harrisburg
        Marquis Grissom – just don’t expect him until late 2025
        Dark horse: Cade Cavalli – could the Nats shift him to the bullpen like they’ve announced with his draft class mate Henry?

        SPs whose time has run out:
        Jackson Rutledge
        Joan Adon
        Chase Solesky
        Hyun Il Choi

        AAAA Fodder (hope it doesn’t get so bad that we see any of these guys, with the exception of Acosta)
        Clay Helvey
        Konnor Pilkington
        Daison Acosta
        Garret Davila
        Ivan Armstrong
        Patrick Weigel

  2. Brad Lord did was Brad Lord does. Throw his sinker up there and force them to make him pay.

    unfortunately Rutledge did what he did most of ’24, lower body flying all over the place and pitches missing the zone.

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