Story by
Bullpen inconsistencies drop Washington Nationals 3-2 vs. Arizona
- Story by
- Bullpen inconsistencies drop Washington Nationals 3-2 vs. Arizona
Bullpen inconsistencies drop Washington Nationals 3-2 vs. Arizona
After a successful road series for the Nationals , that success couldn't translate back at home after they dropped 3-2 against the Diamondbacks in game one of the three-game series.
Carson Palmquist took to the mound to start the series. With an 8.74 ERA, Palmquist aimed to get those numbers down.
Advertisement
Diamondbacks Ketel Marte struck out swinging against Palmquist's 73 mph sweeper which looked like a promising start to the game. But, the Diamondbacks drew back-to-back walks. Palmquist seemed to find difficulty in securing outs.
The inning eventually wrapped up where runners were stranded on corners. However the first inning dragged on longer than the Nationals would've liked it to. That's because it took Palmquist 32 pitches to close out the first inning. During that time he allowed three base runners.
Chaparro turns to Nationals dugout as he celebrates his first inning double play.
After just 1.1 innings pitched, Zach Littell relieved Palmquist after he continued to struggle on the mound. Palmquist allowed a double followed by a walk to start the second inning. Then a sacrifice bunt to Palmquist allowed the Diamondbacks to push runners to second and third.
Advertisement
Littell looked to clean up the mess that was left around the bases. However, the Diamondbacks scored first after Tim Tawa reached on a bunt single to first which allowed Max Kepler to reach home.
Tawa bunts allows Diamondbacks to bring in a run.
Just when it looked like the Nationals would get out of a messy second inning the Diamondbacks scored again to take a 2-0 lead. Littell closed out the inning and left runners on first and second.
Abrams reached first after he singled infield to the pitcher to start the fourth inning. Crews built on the momentum Abrams created. Crews launched the 91 mph four-seam fastball 405 feet to center for a two-run home run which tied up the game. That marked Crews eighth home run of the season.
Advertisement
Once again it was Abrams who started another inning with a single, this time to right, to get the offense heated in the sixth inning. Crews then copied Abrams with another single to right.
Young pushed runners on base after a sacrifice bunt to third. With Abrams at third and Crews at second the Nationals had room to work with since they only had one out. However, Ford secured the second out after he struck out swinging.
Still in it, García earned a walk to load the bases for Nasim Nuñez. Unfortunately, Nuñez couldn't add any more runs after he grounded out to second which forced the Nationals to strand the bases loaded.
Littell looking to get the Nationals back on the right track after relieving Palmquist.
The two teams continued to hold off one another from earning any more runs for a while. That was until the seventh inning.
Advertisement
The Diamondbacks found themselves back in front after a series of plays allowed the bases to load and a runner to tag home after a sacrifice fly to left. The Nationals bullpen continued to struggle when it came to finding a rhythm on the mound.
The Nationals will start game two at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday with Foster Griffin on the mound as they hope to find themselves back in the win column against the Diamondbacks.
Head over to the Nationals Roundtable page and hit the "Join" button under the featured story... it's completely FREE! You'll have the opportunity to engage with other Nationals fans who live and breathe the team, share your thoughts on the organization, and more. If you're asked to sign up or download the Roundtable app... that's free too.
