Washington Nationals news & notes: Jackson Rutledge to make MLB debut tonight in PNC…

Jackson Rutledge to make MLB debut:

The Nationals never relinquished the lead, knowing the club needed to replace Mackenzie Gore in the starting rotation, with the left-hander on the 15th IL dealing with a blister on his left hand. -Until tonight’s match pittsburgh pirates For the game at PNC Park, manager Davey Martinez declined to comment when asked if Gore’s next appearance had been predetermined.

Before the final game of the series against LA dodgers Reporters at Nationals Park on Sunday noted that Washington’s 24-year-old 2019 first-round pick Jackson Rutledge did not make his scheduled start on Friday because he suffered an unexplained scrape. did.

A few days later, Martinez said he had not yet heard anything about why Rutledge did not pitch in the game.

“Nothing,” he said Sunday afternoon. “So we’ll probably announce something – maybe not tomorrow, but the next day. [Tuesday]”

Martinez said he didn’t even ask why Rutledge was hurt.

“Yeah, I had no idea,” Martinez said. Rain postponements and extra innings strained the bullpen over the weekend, and there were plenty of other things to worry about.

Asked again before Monday’s series opener against the Pirates, Martinez declined to be named the starter for today’s third of four straight games at PNC.

“We’re still going to wait,” he said. “We probably won’t be able to announce anything until after the game tomorrow. There are some other things we need to confirm, but we’ll definitely let you know after tomorrow. [the game]”

He kept his promise.

After last night’s 5-1 loss to the Bucks, Martinez announced that the 6-foot-8, 251-pound right-hander would indeed be making his MLB debut.

“Rutledge will start tomorrow,” Martinez finally admitted.

“We’ll be reinvigorating him and, like I said, we’ll be seeing another of our young prospects here.

“The biggest thing for him is just going out there and having fun and attacking the strike zone.”

This season, he started 23 games in the Nationals’ system between Double-A and Triple-A, logging 119 IP, with starting pitchers totaling a 3.71 ERA, 55 walks (4.16/9 BB), and 106 strikeouts ( 8.02K/9) and a batting average of .319. He has a .227 BAA and 1.27 WHIP (3.16 ERA in 12 starts at AA Harrisburg and 4.44 ERA in 11 starts at AAA Rochester).

“He made some adjustments there, especially picking himself up when things got a little bad,” Martinez said when asked why Rutledge agreed.

“He knows what he needs to do, so I’m looking forward to watching him pitch tomorrow.”

Rutledge will make his debut four years after the Nationals selected him with the No. 1 pick and 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft. Although he was plagued by injuries in college, he impressed both GM Mike Rizzo and assistant GM Chris Klein when scouting the right side. Handner for many years.

“He showed strength,” Rizzo said in 2019 of what they saw when they looked at the pitcher’s scouts.

“Mid-to-high 90s fastball, good hard slider, good curveball, and developmental changes. His command is vastly improved from when he was a young pitcher.

“He’s finally growing into that big body, and we think he’s just scratched the surface.”

“The first-round talent and everyone that was there was very happy for him to be there when they drafted him at 17 years old,” Klein said.

“He has a good package as a starting pitcher,” Rizzo added. “He’s a big guy and his arm movement is good. He’s fast with his arms. He’s got power.”

After a few years, some injuries slowed his development, and a solid showing late this year, the Nationals are giving Rutledge a chance to prove himself in the majors tonight against the Pirates.

PNC add-ons:

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said after Washington’s 25-year-old starting right-hander, Joan Adon, pitched five innings, throwing a total of 80 pitches, allowing six hits, three walks, and two earned runs, giving up three hits and no runs. “He was good,” he told reporters.2 wins over New York mets Last week in DC

“He limited the damage,” Martinez continued. “It was hot. He got through five innings with 80 pitches, so I thought it was enough for him to be that hot, and he kept us in the game.”

“I understand they hit a few runs in the first inning, but I stuck with the same game plan,” Adon said. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNin evaluating his own outing.

“I made some good pitches and they adjusted accordingly. I still had a game plan for that game and I stuck to it and kept pitching.”

His ability to limit the damage was tested again last night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as Adon was stranded in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back two-out hits, only to be hit with a walk and a two-run home run. Josh Palacios hit an 0-1 sinker low and over the middle 410 feet to center field, giving the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.

Adon had a single and two walks in the third inning, two walks and a single in the fourth, but extended his lead in the fifth inning with a leadoff double and back-to-back singles, at which point his night was over. The starters threw up to 93 pitches over four innings, ultimately losing 5–1 to the Bucs.

In the end, he allowed 4 earned runs on 8 hits and 6 walks.

“It’s just bad. The whole thing is bad,” Adon said of his outing. Quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco After the match.

“What can I say? I don’t even know how to explain it,” Adon said. “It felt good, but they were just hitting my pitches. They saw everything very well.”

“He couldn’t get the ball in the strike zone,” Martinez said. “He fell behind. He kept going back to breaking balls and breaking balls and never really attacking hitters, so we’re going to talk to him over the next few days and get him back on the offensive line.” ”

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Adon had nine whiffed strikes and 13 called strikes over five pitches that night.

“He was OK, he just couldn’t find the strike zone when he needed to,” the manager added.

“He needs to understand that he needs to adjust. So for an inning or two, he started throwing his fastball a little more. It was great, but even after that, he’s still — he’s got two strikes. , and then started throwing curveballs again, but he needs to understand his fastball plays sometimes and when he can’t get past other issues, he needs to utilize his fastball.”