Littell struggles after rain delay as Nats pivot to unplanned bullpen game

WASHINGTON -- A delayed start and an early exit. The Nationals faced the unexpected on Friday, ultimately turning to a bullpen game as they struggled to find offense in their 10-2 loss to the Mariners.

First pitch of the series opener was delayed for two hours and 11 minutes because of inclement weather, which caused downpours, lightning and movie-like skies.

When the field dried and Zack Littell finally took the mound at 8:55 p.m. ET, his results were more reflective of his early-season struggles than his recent turnaround.

Littell succinctly summed up his start as, “Not great.”

Littell allowed five runs off four hits (including a Colt Emerson home run) and one walk in just 1 2/3 innings. He did not record a strikeout in his 56 pitches.

“It seemed like he was in two-strike counts a lot; he just couldn’t put guys away,” said manager Blake Butera. “It seemed like they were fouling everything off, they were on everything he threw at them. We talk about pounding the strike zone, throwing a ton of strikes – he did that. He just couldn’t get much swing-and-miss tonight. I know he’s frustrated with it. He’s trying to figure out what went wrong and why that is.”

Littell’s shortest start of the season had been 3 2/3 innings. After ending the month of April with a 7.85 ERA, Littell had made major strides. He entered Friday having gone 6-0 with a 2.27 ERA in his last seven starts.

“There was no change in [my pregame routine]. I was prepared as good as I’d felt in any of the past stretch of starts,” Littell said. “I think that’s kind of what’s frustrating about baseball in general, is to have the stuff, the command, to feel good the way I did tonight, and the result not be there.”

Only five outs into the game, the Nationals had to pivot. They turned to rookie Riley Cornelio, a career starting pitcher who is being utilized as a long reliever in the Majors. Cornelio gave the Nats 4 1/3 innings in his third big-league appearance, double what he had pitched in each of his first two.

Cornelio began his night by getting Julio Rodríguez to ground out to second base, and he retired the side in the third and fourth innings. Cornelio was one strike away from escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, but he misfired a wild pitch and allowed one run to score. Then, he gave up a two-run RBI single to Luke Raley.

Cornelio was charged with three runs off three hits, with two walks and two strikeouts across a career-high 73 pitches. He was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after the game.

“I thought Riley Cornelio did a really good job of getting us the four-plus innings that he did and trying to give us a chance to keep us in that game,” said Butera.

For as much as the Nationals’ pitchers tried to prevent the Mariners from doing further damage, the Nats bats were stifled at the plate all night. Bryce Miller was dominant in eight innings with four hits, two runs, no walks and seven strikeouts. James Wood and Dylan Crews each connected for solo homers.

"He was just making good pitches,” said Wood. “His fastball was working well. Then he was just able to play the slider and the splitter off of that pretty well."

Aside from Wood and Crews, Jorbit Vivas was the only other Nationals player to get a hit off Miller.

“He just has really good stuff,” said Butera. “He's able to locate and command five different pitches, and he's throwing 97 [mph] with some good movement. He's got like a 1.00 ERA in his outings this year, and there's a reason. It's really good stuff, and the ability to throw a bunch of different pitches for strikes."

The Nationals were looking to bounce back from a dismal loss in San Francisco on Wednesday. Their first attempt was delayed by two hours, and they will try again on Saturday.

“They had a delay, too, so it’s hard to say it affected us more,” said Butera. “It is what it is. We don’t have any excuses to make.”