On an afternoon when the Nationals were dealing with another blow to their bullpen, starting left-hander Foster Griffin once again provided a consistent force on the mound.
Griffin gave the Nats seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts the same day that late-inning reliever Clayton Beeter was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right forearm soreness.
Griffin became the first Washington starter to pitch into the seventh frame this season in the Nats’ 2-1 win in 10 innings over the White Sox. He set a career high in innings and strikeouts, while allowing only two hits and two walks. Griffin threw 61 of his 95 pitches for strikes as he utilized his seven-pitch arsenal.
After pitching in Japan the last three years, Griffin is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings across six starts this season. It has been a breakthrough performance for the 30-year-old who appeared in just seven Major League games from 2020-22.
Griffin’s afternoon was aided by a robbery from Jacob Young in center field in the seventh inning. Tanner Murray belted a fastball from Griffin a Statcast-projected 387 feet with a hit probability of 78 percent before Gold Glove candidate Young tracked it down and crashed into the wall for the catch.
The Nationals turned to Gus Varland, Richard Lovelady and Paxton Schultz out of the bullpen. They allowed just one unearned run over three frames -- and Schultz earned his first Major League save -- while José Tena launched his first home run of the season in the 10th inning to break a scoreless tie.
Beeter, who is 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA and two saves this season, was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Sunday. He last pitched on Wednesday with a scoreless inning against the Braves.
“It's just been cranky for a little bit now,” manager Blake Butera told reporters. “I don't think it's anything we're overly concerned with at this point, but we want to get some imaging done just to make sure. … The fact that he hadn't pitched in a handful of days and still feels this a little bit, you wonder if he's been just trying to pitch through it because he's a competitive kid, he wants to be out there.”
The Nationals called up Andre Granillo and Schultz from Triple-A Rochester as they plan to address the closer role by committee.