Nats Win Streak Stopped by Cards, 2-1
Tanner Roark decked the Cards for four scoreless innings, but St. Louis tagged Joaquin Benoit for both runs for a 2-1 win over Washington. The loss stopped the Nats’ win streak at five.
Roark allowed just one hit and struck out three. Benoit gave up both Cards runs on three hits in just a single inning pitched.
Victor Robles (0-2) got the start in CF, as did Andrew Stevenson (1-2, R, HR, RBI) in LF, and Jose Marmolejos (0-3, 2K) as the DH.
The two Austins – Voth and Adams – both pitched a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts.
Here’s how the rest of the Watchlist players did:
● Kelvin Guiterrez took over 3B from Adrian Sanchez and flew out to LF for the first out in the 7th.
● Osvaldo Abreu was the second 2B and drew a walk in the 7th.
● Daniel Johnson subbed for Moises Sierra in RF and grounded out to third for the second out in the 8th.
● Blake Perkins followed Robles in CF and rolled one to SS for the first out in the 9th.
● Taylor Gushue struck out while pinch-hitting for Marmolejos in the 9th to end the game.
For those of you playing hooky, the game today will be broadcast on MASN at 1 p.m. and repeated tonight at 7 p.m. You can put the TV on mute and tune in to 106.7 FM at 1 p.m. A.J. Cole is schedule to pitch as the Nationals “host” the Astros (again).
Stevenson is in the lineup almost every day and continues to impress. I suspect he is being showcased, to be part of a trade soon or at the trade deadline for a SP. Otherwise, he’s competing with Goodwin for the 4th OF spot, but Goodwin proved himself in 2017, so that chance is slim.
Don’t forget Kendrick on the OF depth chart.
I don’t see any path for Stevenson to getting big league minutes barring an injury catastrophe. Any mid-season call ups will go to Robles ahead of Stevenson.
Fortunately, the Nationals don’t need to move on Stevenson any time soon. With Harper’s contract uncertainty and Goodwin and Taylor far from sure things, the Nats should give Stevenson a full season of AAA, especially when he struggled mightily there last season. To add to that, I doubt his prospect value is very high anyway, having just batted .252/.298/.320. Better to hold our cards for now.
That’s why Knorr hired for Cuse. Coach the blue chip kids.
The blue chip kids are in Harrisburg not the cuse.
I am talking about Stevenson Robles. Orange.
Better than what was there last season
Good. Because I was afraid you were advocating Soto, Kieboom, etc. to leapfrog Potomac…
Kids playing to slow down Murphy and Eaton ETAz
Curious to see if Nats use Jeff Ames as a swing guy on Cuse or Burg ??
Just restarting the discussion about Romero here.
To those that missed it, Seth Romero was sent home for violating team rules (but not MLB rules, so it doesn’t appear to be drug related). It sounds like the Nats are taking a zero tolerance policy with Romero, and cracking down hard on violations. But, boy, it didn’t take long for him to run afoul.
We’re, what, a week into ST?
The announcement stated that Romero didn’t violate MLB policy which means he didn’t test positive for a “drug of abuse”. An educated guess is that this is alcohol related. Have heard that Romero is exceptionally immature and just does not understand what he is on the verge of throwing away.
With Romero now outside the Nats’ direct supervision at least temporarily, this is one time when I’m glad a Nats prospect is a Boras client. Boras’ operation has wherewithal and the resources to get him help. This is beginning to look like a Josh Hamilton-situation requiring 24/7 hand-holding. This is now Romero’s 3rd transgression in a little more than a year (Romero was suspended and then kicked off the team at Houston last year; he has now been sent how by the Nats in Early March); there is little reason to think that he is going to suddenly stay on the straight and narrow.
The evaluation of the Nats’ 2017 draft has taken a big-time hit, and we aren’t even a year in.
Romero actually had “three strikes” at U of H — for gaining 40-50 pounds one offseason; for the bong deal; and for fighting with teammates.
Sigh. I do try to pull for every kid to maximize his potential. Romero is hard to pull for, though. You’ve got guys out there killing themselves, trying to maximize every ounce of what they’ve got, working 24/7/365. Then you’ve got this guy, who may have twice the talent, but it’s linked to half the heart and one-quarter of the brain.
Some may recall that I was jumping up and down even before the draft for the Nats to not pick Romero. I’ve also been hoping all offseason that they would include him in a trade package to maximize his supposed value. At the same time, I know how thin the system is in higher-quality pitching talent, which is why the Nats spent nine of their first ten picks in 2017 on arms. They hoped the top two in particular could move up quickly. Well, good luck Wil Crowe. And keep an eye on Brendon Little, Nate Pearson, and Alex Lange, the pitchers the Nats passed on to take Romero.
Sigh.
Sigh
I agree with everybody here on Romero. The part that chaps me the most was the Nats paid about $400k OVER slot, when he had no leverage at all.
Could have used that money elsewhere.