'We did Cole a disservice': Butera reflects on 'pen struggles, apologizes to Henry

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals' bullpen is constructed for relievers to pitch multiple innings. In order for that to work, the relievers need to be built up to do so.

The day after right-hander Cole Henry threw 44 pitches across 1 2/3 innings and was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Rochester, manager Blake Butera reflected on how they will navigate their ‘pen preparation differently moving forward.

“Look, I will 100 percent wear Cole Henry’s poor second inning last night,” Butera said Tuesday afternoon before the Nationals’ 6-3 loss to the Astros. “To be very transparent and truthful, I think we did Cole a disservice because we didn’t have him throw multiple innings at Triple-A. A lot of times when we bring a player up from Triple-A, it’s because our bullpen’s thin and we’re going to need them to throw multiple innings.”

Looking for fresh arms, the Nats recalled Henry from Rochester on Monday. Henry had pitched multiple innings only once in his 16 Minor League appearances this season.

Henry replaced Miles Mikolas in the seventh inning with a 12-7 lead. He delivered a 1-2-3 inning against Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, recording two strikeouts on 13 pitches.

But Henry’s night fell apart when he returned for the eighth.

Henry issued a one-out, six-pitch walk to LaMonte Wade Jr. Cam Smith singled on the seventh pitch of his at-bat, and Yainer Diaz grounded into a forceout.

With two outs, Braden Shewmake connected on a seventh-pitch RBI single. Down to a 2-2 count against Brice Matthews, Henry allowed a three-run homer on the sixth pitch that made it a one-run game.

Henry exited, having allowed four runs off three hits, one walk and two strikeouts. His 44 pitches were a season high, surpassing the 43 pitches he threw in 1 2/3 innings for the Nats on April 8.

“We’ve seen it with Cole Henry, we’ve seen it with Zak Kent, we’ve seen it with Paxton Schultz,” said Butera. “Pretty much every guy we’ve brought up from Triple-A, they’re not here just to throw one inning. They’re coming up because we need coverage.”

On Friday, Kent entered the game versus the Pirates in the eighth inning with a 7-1 lead. He threw a scoreless frame, but then gave up four runs in the ninth. Kent accumulated 41 pitches, and he was optioned to Rochester on Sunday.

“At the end of the day, if our pitcher goes out there and struggles, I don't want to say, ‘Oh, he's just not a good pitcher,’” said Butera. “Let's figure out what happened, and let's figure out what we can do to make sure that next time that doesn't happen again.”

Washington activated left-hander Matt Krook on Tuesday to fill the bullpen vacancy. The 31-year-old, who was claimed off waivers from the Athletics on Saturday, has pitched multiple innings in 12 relief outings with Triple-A Las Vegas this season.

“We’ve discussed that as a group, as an organization,” said Butera. “... We’re going to make sure going forward those guys are getting the workload that they’re going to be expected to do up here when they are in Triple-A.”