Checkmate! Griffin gameplans way to more Nats history in 10-inning nailbiter

BALTIMORE -- Foster Griffin and Zack Littell both sat hunched over a small round table in the visitors’ clubhouse on Saturday afternoon. There was little conversation between the two starters; they were immersed in a game of chess.

Watching Griffin pitch, as he did in the Nationals’ 4-3 win over the Orioles in 10 innings at Camden Yards in the second game of a three-game set, is in many ways like watching a game of chess.

Where there are six types of chess pieces, Griffin has seven pitches, each used as methodically -- and with as much precise command, within reason -- as pieces on a chessboard.

On Saturday, Griffin maneuvered his way around 26 batters, allowing just one run (unearned) on three hits and two walks over seven innings, while matching his career high with nine strikeouts (for the third time this year). He became the latest Nats starter (excluding openers) to allow one run or fewer in five consecutive starts since Aníbal Sánchez in 2022.

“I appreciate every time [Griffin’s] on the mound,” manager Blake Butera said. “We all have a ton of confidence in Foster. He pitches his tail off for us and leaves it all out there every single time.

“... It goes a long way. Those guys know he’s over 100 pitches and is working his butt off against this tough lineup, and the fact that he wants to stay in the game and doesn’t want to come out speaks volumes.”

Griffin's 112 pitches were the most by a National since Patrick Corbin threw 113 in a start on June 28, 2022, vs. Pittsburgh, the latest career-best feat in Griffin’s first full season in the Majors -- and first season as a starter in MLB.

“Oh yeah, he has been incredible,” said Daylen Lile, whose single to lead off the 10th inning drove in the go-ahead run. “Just for him to pound the strike zone and trust and believe in himself -- but also his defense. I mean, that's all you can ask for in a pitcher.

“He always trusts and believes in his defense. He always has confidence in his stuff, and you know, we can't ask for anything better.”

Backed by a Nationals offense that finally found its groove again, posting double-digit hits for the first time since Monday (Griffin’s previous start), the southpaw cruised through seven innings for the fourth time this year.

“Anything for Blake, and anything for the team, right?” Griffin said. “The boys out there have been going through it, but that’s the ebbs and flows of the game, right? I think we all know that at some point this is -- we’re gonna get through it. We’re gonna get through it as a club, we’re gonna get through it as a bullpen, and we got all the faith in those guys down there. So we said get through seven there and then you know, came out with a good win.”

Though Washington’s three runs weren’t enough to give the bullpen some cushion -- it allowed a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, marking the Nats’ fourth blown lead in their past five games -- it was Griffin’s performance that stood out. And it helped the Nationals take their first step toward gaining back some momentum, snapping a four-game skid.

“I’m happy right now,” Butera said. “I’m happy. Obviously just with the way these last few days have gone, and then to give up the lead there again, obviously just like, ‘here we go again,’ and I couldn’t be happier with the response, in the 10th there.”

Part of what makes Griffin’s arsenal so intriguing is that it centers around his cutter. Having six supplementary pitches enables Griffin to be even more strategic than most starters. So far this season, his four-seam fastball has been his second-most thrown pitch (17.8%), but on Saturday, he utilized his changeup (9.8% on the season) more than any other secondary pitch (17.9%), while using his four-seamer for 12.5% of his pitches.

“As a starting pitcher, we’ll have a plan going into it, but that does change at times based off of the hitter swings and what we’re seeing in the box, stuff like that,” Griffin said. “So tonight was a little bit of both, it may have varied by hitter, as far as what we may have changed, but for the most part our game plan going into it was good.”

It’s that versatility -- and the game-planning it enables -- that makes Griffin both unique and a weapon … and one of the best starters in the Majors.

Oh, and that pregame chess game? It didn’t go Griffin’s way -- but it helped him mentally prepare for the start. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters to him. That, and helping his team win.