NEW YORK – Needing to cover at least 7 1/3 innings following Brad Lord’s pitch-heavy, abbreviated start, the Nationals had extra bullpen depth to work with since the Trade Deadline.
Among their moves, the Nationals had acquired left-hander Will Dion from the Guardians in the Foster Griffin deal and right-hander Yovanny Cruz from the Yankees in the Luis Garcia Jr. trade.
The Nats called on both of them in Saturday’s game against the Mets: Dion to pitch in long relief behind Lord and Cruz to close out the game. They yielded opposite results.
“I think it’s two different examples,” manager Blake Butera said after the Nationals’ 5-4 loss. “I think Will’s jumped right in and has gotten off to a great start. I think Yovanny’s still trying to find his footing a little bit.”
Dion threw 4 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings. He struck out a career-high seven batters and issued only one walk, earning praise from Butera as “the MVP of the game.” Dion tied a Nationals team record (2005-present) for the second-most strikeouts by a reliever after Cory Abbott (eight strikeouts on Sept. 21, 2023). He is the first Nats pitcher to throw at least 4 1/3 hitless frames as a reliever since Jefry Rodriguez (Sept. 15, 2018).
“Will Dion pitched his [butt] off for us,” said Butera. “... To be able to do what he did, it was outstanding. I couldn’t have been happier. He gave us a chance to win that game, and it’s not easy to do that when your starter’s not able to get through the first inning.”
Dion pitched in a dual role as recently as last season in the Guardians’ system, when he made 13 starts in 2025 on the Triple-A level. Dion is quickly proving to be a reliable long-relief option for the Nationals, even telling them he is built up to 70 pitches.
In his previous appearance on Aug. 9 against the Reds, he pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first Major League win. Dion has not allowed a run in his first three appearances with the Nats.
“This is a tough level,” said Dion. “These hitters across the league, they can bang. Seeing my stuff play, it helps me a lot.”
Cruz, on the other hand, is having a rocky adjustment.
On Saturday, he followed Orlando Ribalta and Clayton Beeter out of the ‘pen to pitch the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead. Cruz walked leadoff man Brett Baty on five pitches, including two mislocated fastballs. He didn’t have confidence in his four-seamer command – an issue he said he has experienced his last two outings – and threw almost all sliders after that, with one splitter mixed in. The results were a single, game-tying double, strikeout and a walk-off single to Francisco Lindor.
“Since I threw the first fastball, I didn't feel comfortable with it,” Cruz said via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “That's why I immediately made the switch to the slider. I thought that was going to do the job, but it didn't."
The Nationals want to see Cruz in high-leverage situations, including the ninth. In his first five games with the Nationals, he is 0-1 with a 15.00 ERA and two blown saves. Cruz had pitched to a 1.69 ERA in four big league appearances with the Yankees this season, and a 3.53 ERA in 31 outings at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“The big thing is confidence,” said Butera. “It’s hard coming over to a new team where you don’t really know a ton of people, and it’s a little bit easier when you jump into this and have success right away. We’ve got to help Yovanny. That’s up to us as a staff to get him right.”