Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats lose to D-backs, 5-3; Jake Irvin solid again; Davey Martinez ejected + more

27 out only:

“No mistakes are allowed,” Davey Martinez said in his pre-match press conference yesterday.

“You can’t give another team 30 outs and expect them to win.”

In a make-up game against Arizona in DC on Thursday, Washington’s new center fielder Derek Hill as fast-footed Corbyn Carroll took to first after the D-backs outfielder fell to a hard first-base grounder. Appeared in the second game after being called up. In Wednesday’s major game against the Nationals, Christian Walker misplayed a two-out single to center, giving Carroll enough time to get up to speed and ultimately lead the visiting team to a 5-3 win at Nationals Park. Scored the first of four earned runs.

In the 3rd inning, Lane Thomas’ 12th home run of the season tied the score at 1-1, but in the 4th, Knots’ second baseman Luis Garcia misplayed a pop-up behind second base with a runner on second base, giving up a run. I forgave Runner Carroll again scored on a sack fly in his next at-bat, making it 2–1 for the D-backs. Garcia broke back but the ball fell in front of him due to the wind.

In the 7th inning, Jordan Weems, who advanced the inning with a walk with two outs before a home run, became the leadoff man due to an error, and then Ketel Marte hit a triple with two outs.

“Like I said before, I think I’ve said it before, you can’t give a good team 28, 29 outs,” he said in June after the Nationals had lost 14 of their 18 games so far. Afterwards, Martinez said. “I can’t. I think we had four earned runs today. Get rid of them so we can be in the baseball game right away. So we have to improve on that.” No, we really do, so we can compete.

“So we’re just going to come back tomorrow…and just have to play a good, clean baseball game and see where we are.”

Asked what he thought of the first two errors, Martinez said Garcia misread the pop and Hill simply took his eye off the ball.

“[García] He turned completely around, his back facing the infield. He needs to see the ball and understand the wind effect,” explained the coach. “He couldn’t take his eyes off the ball. Unable to catch it, Derek took his eyes off the ball and went under his glove.

Irvin’s turn:

Jumping Jake Irvin’s rotation once gave the Washington Nationals an opportunity to focus on the mechanics of the 26-year-old starter, and he worked closely with pitching coach Jim Hickey to ensure the club was in trouble. I was able to fix some of the things I recognized.

“Hickey wanted to talk to him about getting better in direction and using his legs a little better,” manager Davey Martinez explained before Irvin returned to the starting line-up last week. “So hopefully [translates] You can see that from today’s game, but the most important thing, I want to talk to him first and foremost, is attack the strike zone, throw a strike 1, and… stay in the moment and move on. to concentrate on pitching. Don’t get ahead of yourself. “

Irvin struggled early against Miami last week, allowing two hits, two walks and one run in the first two innings.he threw 49 pitches) but the right arm remained calm and finished 3 frames scoreless (he allowed two hits and threw 39 pitches).

“After the first two, he threw the ball better, a lot better,” Martinez said in his post-match comments. “His direction was good. We talked about trying to keep his front hip a little closed, but he had a down side and threw the ball better, so that was very encouraging. became.”

“It has a lot to do with the mental aspect,” Irvin said of the adjustments during the game. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN. “I understand that it’s about competing regardless of who’s in the box.

“You have to compete for the plate and pitch. I think I’ve used this (off) time to really get my head and focus ready to do that.”

“We talked about it after the game,” Martinez said of Ervin’s break and hard work paying off. So I hope we get him on the right track.

“He needs to grow from the last three innings he pitched today. We’ll see what happens in five days.”

Irvin had a solid run, returning to the mound yesterday against the D-backs in DC, allowing just five hits, one walk and two runs (one earned) in six innings on the mound. Lost 5-3.

The rookie right-hander struck out 6, whiffed 10, and recorded 20 cold strikes (10 on the fastball). He averaged 95.2 mph (93.3 mph) in 87 pitches.

“I’m really happy with how Jake Irvin pitched today,” the manager said after the loss.

“He had a lot better legs than I’ve seen all year. His head was in a good position behind the baseball and everything was clean. It was amazing. This was me years ago. It’s Jake Irvin we saw at Spring Training on . [Tommy John] surgery [in 2021]But I only saw him pitch a few innings in spring training, and it was great to see it today, so we have to continue to strengthen him, think to him that’s who he is. And I can’t say enough about what Hickey did to him. Because we disparage him, say he missed the start. And this is something we’ve been working on and it’s been great to see him come out and implement what we’ve done and talked about. “

Back page – Robles returns to IL:

Before Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against St. Louis, Washington made some roster changes, including the placement of outfielder Victor Robles. He was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a lumbar spasm. The move came shortly after the 26-year-old outfielder returned after dealing with challenges at the IL for over a month.

Robles wasn’t feeling well the night before, but after the Cardinals loss, the manager said he was going to talk to the outfielders and get an honest assessment of the health of the center fielders.

“I spoke to him last night,” Martinez said after Robles returned to IL. “He had to stress that he needed to be honest with me. And he said it hurt a little. [his back] prevented him from running. It doesn’t care about him hitting, it cares about him running. So it’s still the same. Lumbar back spasm. So we’re going to register him with IL so that we can do what’s right for him before he comes back. It stinks because he was actually playing good. He’s hitting the ball, he’s been hitting the ball all year and I can’t watch him play and suddenly he hits the wall again. [as he did on Monday night] And something really really happens to him. So we’re going to deal with it wisely. We know he’s a little frustrated, but we’re going to take care of him and make sure he’s perfectly healthy. “

Photo Credit: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Robles’ running problems were evident to the Nats captain, who said the outfielder was having trouble getting into shape.

“[Just] Watching him run and his first few steps, that’s what he said. It was a little tough for him to start running, but he felt fine once he started. So we’re going to look at this situation and make him stronger, let his back settle down a bit, build some strength and then start from there. “

When asked if Robles felt uncomfortable from the start when he returned to action on June 16 (after missing 34 games), the manager said, “No.”

“His response — because I ask him every day — and his response to me was, ‘I feel it sometimes, but it’s not terrible.’ I feel like I can really play.” So the last time I spoke to him, he said it bothered him. And I said, “Where are you?” And he said, “I feel it, but I only feel it when I’m running.” And he said, “I don’t care about hitting.” So I said, ‘Well, Vic, the important part of this game is playing center field where you have to run.’ I think it would be wise to improve and start from there. “

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