Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats walk off on A’s; Keibert Ruiz home run wins it…

Irvin vs A’s:

Jake Irvin finished his second-of-three start with a back kick for the Athletics in Washington, D.C., and Oakland shortstop Nick Allen made a tall 3-2 curve to score a strike three, going 2-1 to second and third base. placed runners on A game that favors visitors.

In the 17th start of his major league career, the 26-year-old Ervin threw a total of 99 pitches to 27 batters he faced and was hit by a solo home run by J.J. Bledei in the third inning.Midfield, 1-2 heater, outfielder hits 432-foot blast to midfield), and in the sixth inning Brent Rooker (Hit 401 feet backwards right from bottom outside zone on 1-2 curve outside Athletics DH), but otherwise not great, allowing a total of seven hits, not giving a single walk, and striking out six.

out of 4 ¹⁄₃He threw 94 pitches and allowed 5 hits against the Reds in Cincinnati (2 HRs), 2 walks, 3 earned runs and 6 strikeouts, Nationals manager Davey Martinez hopes the rookie right-hander will go a little deeper in recent games before Irvin faces the Athletics in the capital. I said I want to see What’s the key to making it a reality?

“Efficiency, right?” Martinez asked rhetorically. “Going into the strike zone, getting outs early, that’s going to be key for Jake today, hopefully he can do that, but most importantly, I always say Try to get ahead by throwing strike 1 as you are.” Then, face forward and try to get players out within 4 pitches. he was really good He has done a great job for us and we hope he continues to do so. For some, these August days are pretty grim. It’s part of the learning process too, so today I’d like to see him play a game and like I said, be ahead, be competitive, get out of the first inning pretty quickly and go from there. I want to see “

Irvin threw 14 of 99 pitches in the first inning, hitting a one-out double, avoided 16 hits in the second, and allowed an 18-pitch home run to Brady in the third, knocking the Athletics out of the game. He picked up a nine-ball fourth, two Ks, and was pushed to eight straight setdowns on the fifth of 11 pitches, but allowed a two-out home run and a single before getting out of the sixth of 15 pitches. He allowed seven retirements on a total of 83 pitches.

Irvin came off the mound with two outs and second base after throwing 16 pitches through the seventh inning, and left-handed relief pitcher José A. Ferrer stopped two runners who had popped out.

What did his manager think of the No. 17, who started the 2018 second-round pick?

“I’m going to talk about Jake getting us to the baseball game and giving us what we needed,” Martinez told reporters after the game.

“That was a really big moment for him coming back,” added Irvin, making his seventh comeback. “We gave up two hits, then shut them out, handed the ball to Ferrer, and Ferrer came in and gave us a big out.”

The combination of Ervin and Ferrer held the Athletics at 2-1 until the seventh inning, when Ferrer returned to the mound for three quickouts in the top of the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Knots loaded the bases without out against Athletics relief pitcher Ángel Felipe and loaded the bases for the fourth time of the game, allowing pinch hitter Lane Thomas to score an RBI opportunity. 2-2 with a tie RBI to the right.

CJ Abrams grounded a 1-2-3 DP at the next AB and Joey Meneses K’d chased a 3-2 slider outside the zone to get the third out. Still 2-2 at Nationals Park.

Walk It Off:

In the top of the ninth, Kyle Finnegan threw a clean sheet to keep the game tied, and then in the bottom of the inning, Keibert Lewis hit a homer on the 96.6-mile Heater from Athletics reliever Lucas Elseg to lead the scoring, allowing 391 feet. did. It was the Blast, walk-off pitcher, and Lewis’ 14th home run of the 2023 season. ball game.

Lewis, who turned 25 last month, has been doing pretty well in recent weeks, batting 30 for 88 (.341/.410/.546) in his last 25 games.Dating back to July 9th), recording 6 doubles, 4 homers, 11 walks, and 11Ks in 100 PAs during that period, but was 0-for-4, K1, until he pinch-hit with one out to win.

“He’s down, he’s behind the ball, he’s starting to drive the ball a little bit, but that’s the trail,” manager Davey Martinez explained before Friday night’s game.

“He’s not chasing. He’s relaxed and hitting better with two strikes, so he’s feeling great.

It was Lewis’s first walk-off home run of his career and, as the club noted in its postgame notes, “the Nationals’ fourth walk-off win and second walk-off home run of the season.”

“It was a great swing,” Martinez said after the game. “Aggressive player in the zone ready, set up on time, step back and get the ball over the fence. He’s played well for both teams. His defense is really good. , starting to swing the bat as we know it, so he’s been great.”

Martinez said he’s impressed with the growth of the Nationals’ No. 1 catcher.

“He learned a lot,” said the director. “His routine. It’s just going out and playing and, like I said, just cherishing the moment, but he’s done really well. How well he’s been handling our pitching staff while recovering. Somehow I’ve been impressed.I asked him to do different things and we asked him to do DH.He’s a gamer, he wants to play, he plays every day. I want to, and I will do everything in my power to contribute to our victory.”

“I’ve dreamed of this moment my whole life and I’m so grateful to have made it happen,” Lewis said on MASN’s post-match show.

Lewis also spoke about Irvin’s trip, telling Bob Carpenter and Dan Colco that he was really impressed with the right-hander.

“I loved his pitching,” said the catcher.

“I love the way he competes, and he showed us tonight. He didn’t give up.”

Also:

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Martinez said of the Athletics pitcher’s mental blunder. “I’ve been doing this job for many years, [Vargas is] A very smart baseball player. I have said it about him many times.

“He plays the game, he plays the game the right way. A lot of players didn’t realize it, but he saw it and at the perfect time he took off and beat him to the base.”