CLEVELAND – Prior to the start of the Nationals' series opener against the Guardians on Friday, manager Dave Martinez spoke about how important it was for his team to get a bit of rest pregame.
After beating the Braves on Friday to secure their second straight series win, the Nationals didn’t end up arriving in Cleveland until around 4 a.m., which led to a quiet pregame clubhouse and a subsequent late start for most of the team.
That early morning arrival ended up rearing its head, as the Nationals were only able to muster three hits in a 7-1 loss to Cleveland.
While the Nationals' offense was dormant for much of Friday night, Patrick Corbin put together one of his best starts of the season, as he allowed just two runs on six hits over six innings for his second quality start.
The Guardians were able to get to Corbin (1-6) in the third inning when they scratched two runs across the plate thanks to a walk, two hits and a groundout. Cleveland’s first run came on a chaotic play when Tyler Freeman scorched a liner off Nick Senzel’s glove that subsequently careened to C.J. Abrams, who went face first into the ground trying to field the deflection. That havoc allowed Brayan Rocchio to score from second.
“It reminded me of “Angels in the Outfield” when they could control the ball,” Corbin deadpanned.
Outside of that inning, only one Guardian managed to get into scoring position off Corbin, who generated nine whiffs with his slider. He entered the day in just the 13th percentile in whiff rate.
“I thought we did a good job mixing and got the sinker down,” Corbin said. “I got into a little trouble on some ground balls that got through but overall located the slider well. That’s a good lineup so you try to minimize damage as much as you can.”
As if the late arrival wasn’t enough, Friday’s game marked the eighth of 17 straight days with a game.
“We’re in a big stretch right now and we’re trying to cut back on the workload so today we’re looking to give these guys a bit of rest and just get focused on the game,” Martinez said pregame.
Corbin left Atlanta early on Thursday, so he was one of the few Nationals who got a good night’s sleep.
“It’s tough,” Corbin said. “I still think getaway days should be at 1 p.m. because you never know what can happen. It’s tough, but it happens to everyone.”
The Nationals' lone run came in the sixth inning when the middle of their order was finally able to get to Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee. Luis García Jr. opened the inning with a single (the Nats’ second hit) before he came around to score two batters later on an RBI double from Eddie Rosario. Rosario roped a ball into the right-field corner that was slightly bobbled by Gabriel Arias, which allowed García to score.
García finished with three of the Nationals’ four hits.
“He was on the fastball,” Martinez said. “We talked to him the other day about getting on the fastball and today he was on it. We need to get back to that, period.”
That was all the Nationals were able to get in the inning, however, as Cade Smith came in and retired Senzel and Joey Gallo to end the scoring threat.
The Nationals had a chance to get out of the seventh inning unscathed but failed to turn a 5-4-3 double play on Josh Naylor (5th percentile in sprint speed) due to Senzel needing to wait for García to get to second base. David Fry put the game out of reach a batter later with a two-out, three-run home run.
“Senzel made a nice play, but we were playing the shift,” Martinez said. “Abrams should have gone to second base [instead of going for the ball]. If he goes to second base we turn that double play easily.”
While Friday’s outcome wasn’t what Martinez and the Nationals wanted, they’re still 5-3 over their past eight games, which is what they’re trying to make their main focus as they head into the rest of the weekend.
“We’ve been playing well,” Martinez said. “Let’s come back tomorrow and go 1-0.”