The Washington Nationals fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 11-6, giving the Fight Infills a series victory. It was a game that followed a familiar pattern until the first day. The Nationals led early at Caver Lewis Homer before the bullpen wasted it.
Jake Irvin took the mound for the net and he gave the team five innings. Though it wasn’t a breathtaking display of breathtaking domination seen on Mackenzie Gore’s first day, he got the job done. In addition to the four innings homer to Bryson Stott, Irvin did a good job of getting out of the jam.
Meanwhile, Natt had a hard time making contact with Jesus Luzard, primarily. The newly acquired Phillies Southpaw hit 11 in five innings. The main culprit was Dylan Crew, troubled by a platinum sombrero, and it went 0-5 at 5k.
However, during his whimsical days, NAT actually went on to the second round. After Amed Rosario scored his first hit as NAT, Keibert Ruiz went deeper for the second time in many games. This time he went from the right side of the plate to the garden.
Keibert is a previously malicious position player for the Nats, and is there a post-hype breakout? Last year he was Louis Garcia Jr., but this year he could be Cabert.
The positivity ended when the bullpen entered the game. Just like on the first day, the combination of Colin Pouch and Lucas Sims absolutely killed NATS. Poche is currently 0-2 and we only have two games in the season. The Sims allowed Homer, ran and gave up on the wild pitch. It was from a small league there. Masun’s Mark Zuckerman tweeted about the bullpen, and it was ugly.
This season, the Nationals Bullpen so far:
6 IP, 11 h, 15 r, 14 er, 11 bb, 9 k, 5 hours– Mark Zuckerman (@markzuckerman) March 29, 2025
It was in 2019 that the bullpen looked so bad early in the season, but it worked. I think it’s fair to have a considerable level of concern about the bullpen status.
After Porch and Sims made the game 7-2, Orlando Ribarta came in and allowed four runs in two innings. I wanted to see Blood Road score a shot to pitch today and complete his journey from Home Depot to MLB, but Davie went with a solid Eduardo Salazar.
The Nationals bats got out of control of the game and ended up in the second half of the innings. The newcomers ameed Rosario and Nathaniel Lowe. NATS actually got a fair 12 hits on days when Lowe, Wood, Abrams, Lewis and Rosario were multi-hits. So it was good to see the attacks show life.
However, the talk of holding a weekend was in the bullpen. That is something the public needs to understand. This bullpen has the chance to torpedoes the season. It’s just two games, but they’re not just kicking people out. Note that Jorge Lopez, the best bailout he picked up in the offseason, hasn’t been pitched yet and Derek’s law hasn’t come into effect. I really hope that people can find a way to stabilize and become an average unit.
There were some positives to take away from the first couple’s game, especially Keibert Ruiz and Mackenzie Gore’s performance. However, this bullpen really has a sour taste in the mouths of Nationals fans.
