Nationals' bullpen is decimated by Cubs in 17-3 defeat
Listen 6 min Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share
CHICAGO — Amos Willingham knew it. Keibert Ruiz did, too. Once Patrick Wisdom connected with a belt-high fastball in the bottom of the seventh inning, Ruiz, the Washington Nationals’ catcher, looked away from the tiebreaking solo shot by dropping his head. Willingham, a rookie reliever, a 24-year-old with only seven appearances to his name, drifted off the mound in frustration.
Those were fitting images to describe the Nationals and their 17-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.
“I’m still working on my slider a little bit, still working on my change-up, trying to get my secondary pitches in line with my fastball,” said Willingham, who threw back-to-back heaters in the same spot to Wisdom. “ … He just ambushed that fastball. Just trying to execute a little bit better and hopefully next I come out, learn from it and have some more success with two strikes.”
Advertisement
After the Nationals won Monday, Manager Dave Martinez confronted reality with his bullpen: With Kyle Finnegan and Mason Thompson taxed in the victory and with Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards Jr. on the injured list, Willingham and others would have to pitch in higher-leverage situations. When those situations arrived Tuesday, Willingham jogged out for the seventh, his second inning of work, and was shelled for four hits and four runs.
Two of the runs scored with lefty Jose A. Ferrer, another rookie, on the mound. Ferrer, 23, relieved Willingham after Wisdom homered to put the Cubs ahead 4-3 and the next three batters singled. Off Ferrer, Ian Happ slapped an RBI double before three more Cubs came in.
Outfielder Lane Thomas had pushed Washington (38-57) ahead with a solo homer in the first. Corey Dickerson followed with a two-run single in the second. Starter Patrick Corbin had been solid, getting 10 whiffs and six called strikes with his slider over 5⅓ innings. But in the end, the Nationals tested their inexperienced relievers — by necessity, even if the coaching staff also was curious how they would fare — and the results were poor.
Advertisement
The Cubs (44-50) scored their final eight runs against veteran Paolo Espino in the eighth. He yielded seven hits and two walks and recorded one out. From the sixth to the eighth, Chicago hitters reached 21 times in a span of 27 plate appearances. Joe La Sorsa spelled Espino and wriggled out of the mess. Jordan Weems, probably the next-best option after Finnegan and Thompson, is the only Nationals reliever who has not appeared in the first two games of this series.
“Look, I’m excited [Willingham] throws strikes, and Ferrer,” Martinez said. “Now it’s just about where they want to throw strikes and how they want to attack hitters.”
About 90 minutes before first pitch, General Manager Mike Rizzo discussed the trade deadline and the Nationals’ top prospects. He said outfielder Elijah Green, the club’s first-round pick last summer, has not played since June 28 because of a left wrist sprain that had him in a splint for close to a week. Green, 19, is rehabbing in West Palm Beach, Fla., though Rizzo thinks he will rejoin low Class A Fredericksburg soon. As for Jake Bennett, the left-hander picked in the second round behind Green, Washington is closely monitoring his innings, which is why he hasn’t pitched since June 24.
Advertisement
These updates came a few hours after a handful of players were officially promoted. Third baseman Brady House, the Nationals’ first-round pick in 2021, now plays for Class AA Harrisburg, where he’s expected to finish the season. Outfielder Daylen Lile, the 2021 second-rounder who has an .891 OPS after missing 2022 because of Tommy John surgery, now plays for high Class A Wilmington. Then Rizzo touched on the deadline, starting with how aggressive he intends to be.
“We’re open for business. We’re going to do deals that make sense for us,” he said. “We have a plan in place; we have a blueprint in place for this rebuild. We’re always open-minded, and we’ll always be aggressive. That’s not to say we’re going to move everybody. But if we can move the ball forward in the rebuild process, we certainly will be open-minded to it.”
What about Thomas and Finnegan, players who could net prospects but have two years of team control remaining beyond this one? (Rizzo centered his answer on Thomas.)
Advertisement
“I see Lane Thomas as having an all-star first half of the season,” he said. “He’s got tools, he’s young, he’s a terrific player. If another team views him only as a part-time or bench player, we won’t have a deal. If somebody views him the way I view him and the way our staff views him, then we’d have a conversation.”
It’s a tougher call when the player could help you in the immediate future?
“Definitely,” Rizzo answered. “Everyone on expiring deals, those decisions are fairly easy.”
At that moment, Jeimer Candelario walked behind Rizzo and high-fived a team trainer. On a one-year, $5 million contract, the third baseman almost certainly will be moved before 6 p.m. Aug. 1. But other potential candidates — Thomas and Finnegan; Harvey and Edwards; Corbin if a team badly needs a lefty and the money works out — are not as clear-cut.
Advertisement
In three of his past four starts, Corbin has reached the sixth inning and recorded at least six strikeouts. But unlike in his previous outing, he couldn’t reach the seventh against the Cubs, wilting against the heart of their order. Seiya Suzuki, who smacked a 114.6-mph single in the first, lined a solo homer to left. Happ, the next batter, singled and stole second. Then the next batter, Cody Bellinger, hit a grounder that second baseman Luis García laid out to snare. Rushed, García threw wide of first base, and Happ wheeled around to tie it at 3.
That was it for Corbin, who threw 99 pitches. Willingham replaced him, plunked the first batter he faced, then retired two before returning for the seventh. That’s when the Cubs roughed up him and Ferrer for six runs.
“That Wisdom at-bat, it’s going to sit with me for a long time,” Willingham said. “Probably not going to sleep a whole lot tonight, just because that kind of changed the whole direction of the game.”
Gift this article Gift Article
Source: The Washington Post
