DENVER – Starting pitcher Cade Cavalli and the Nationals took the field Wednesday knowing how significant the matinee against the Rockies was for their playoff hopes.
Sure, they were looking to secure a series win and go 4-2 on a road trip out of the All-Star break. Bigger than that, they are chasing a Wild Card spot in a close NL postseason race.
“For whatever reason, this one felt like it was extremely important for us to come out with a win,” manager Blake Butera said. “We leaned on [Cavalli], and he answered for us.”
Cavalli delivered six scoreless innings in his first time pitching at Coors Field to lead the Nationals to an 8-0 victory. He needed just 90 pitches to record eight strikeouts, allowing four hits and two walks.
Cavalli became the second starting pitcher in Nationals team history (2005-present) and the third in franchise history (including the Expos) to toss six scoreless frames at Coors Field. Only Tony Armas (Aug. 13, 2005) and Pedro Martinez (July 29, 1997) had done so.
“Coming in, I knew that the shapes on pitches were going to be a little bit different because of the air,” Cavalli said. “But we needed a big win today, and our defense played great. Bats came alive, as always, and I was just glad that I was able to keep us in the game.”
The Nationals bounced back from a frustrating one-run loss Tuesday. There would be no Rockies rally this time. After the Nats scored six runs in the seventh inning, the bullpen of Eddy Yean and Max Kranick secured the shutout. Butera said Cavalli would have gone back out for the seventh inning if not for the offense’s six-run rally, which lifted the Nats to 52-51.
“Everyone in the clubhouse knows the standings,” Butera said. “We know the Trade Deadline's around the corner; it’s on TV every day. People are talking about playoffs, Trade Deadline, buyers [or] sellers, all those different types of things. And I know this is the first time in a while that this group, a lot of these guys have played meaningful baseball here late in July, hopefully going into August. So we're having fun with this.”
Cavalli set the tone by striking out the leadoff batter, Jake McCarthy. He ran into traffic in the fourth inning after allowing a leadoff double to TJ Rumfield and a one-out walk to Kyle Karros. Cavalli got out of the frame with back-to-back strikeouts against Willi Castro and Edouard Julien.
“To throw six innings here scoreless in this ballpark isn’t easy, and navigating through a lot of traffic,” Butera said. “His stuff's so good, and it feels like [he is able to] take it to another level when guys do get into scoring position and there's runners threatening. He made some big pitches for us.”
Cavalli also showed off his defense in the second inning, when Castro came to the plate with Karros on second. Castro hit a one-hop grounder to Cavalli, who backhanded the ball and induced a rundown to nab Karros between second and third.
“I couldn't believe that it went in my glove,” Cavalli said. “I just looked to my left, and he's just caught in the middle. I was like, ‘This is perfect.’ So I’m very happy about that one.”
Cavalli continued his momentum from striking out nine batters in six frames his previous start against the Athletics. He has thrown three consecutive quality starts for the second time this season.
“The series was on the line, and you want to go win every series,” Cavalli said. “Each day is a special opportunity to win a ball game. I think that it's great treating each day like that, and that's what we did today.”