ARLINGTON -- As a former division rival, the Nationals have experienced the heartburn of facing Jacob deGrom more than most clubs -- and faced with the absence of CJ Abrams, their most dependable hitter, the Nats were all but powerless to do anything against the Rangers’ ace in a 2-0 loss Thursday at Globe Life Field.
The Nationals’ offense simply couldn’t break through against deGrom, who improved to 11-4 in 24 starts against them. Among his 105 MLB victories, Washington has been his victim more than any other team (the former Met has beaten NL East denizens Miami and Atlanta 10 times each).
“Even if we had our ‘A’ lineup out there tonight, I think that just deGrom being who he is and who he's been in this league for a long time, as we saw tonight, he's really good,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “So we knew we were going to have to scratch and claw and do anything we could to push runs across, and unfortunately just couldn't get much going tonight.”
The Nats managed only one hit off deGrom, and none off three Rangers relievers. The lack of offense made a footnote of starter Andrew Alvarez’s workmanlike five-inning, five-strikeout, one-earned-run performance, in which he overcame a few perilous jams. And the Nats’ failure to gather any late offense overshadowed another solid night from their often-beleaguered bullpen.
Alvarez retired the first four batters before the Rangers loaded the bases with a walk, a double and another walk. He worked his way out of the second inning unscathed, though.
Alvarez surrendered four hits and walked three in the outing, but Corey Seager’s solo homer in the third was the only at-bat that truly cost Alvarez. He also wriggled out of a situation with runners on second and third and one out in the fourth.
“You want to write it up like that, to get out of [those situations],” Alvarez said of his escape-artist tactics with runners in scoring position. “You don't want to get into them. ... But you’ve just got to keep the composure and trust in the defense. I got a couple key strikeouts, and just to keep the team in it and not give them any momentum.”
By dropping the finale of a three-game set in Texas, the Nationals lost their third series in a row and have lost seven of the past nine games. They were shut out twice in Texas. Throughout nearly all of that adversity, their bullpen -- frequently an Achilles heel for most of the season, and still the MLB leader in blown saves (32) -- pitched capably.
Thursday night, Orlando Ribalta tossed a scoreless sixth, Clayton Beeter blanked the Rangers in the seventh and Tom Cosgrove allowed one run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
That was the sole run Washington relievers allowed in the past four games over 12 1/3 innings. They scattered eight hits and fanned 13 during that span. Since Aug. 5, the Nats’ bullpen ranks seventh in MLB with a 3.07 ERA over 55 2/3 innings pitched, with 52 strikeouts and 19 walks.
“It’s really good to see them come in with some confidence and attack the zone,” Butera said. “I think with bullpens in general, when they have a little bit of a run of success, you see them start to gain some confidence and belief in what they're able to do, and hopefully they're able to continue that.”