Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats battle back late, but drop 8-7 game to D-backs…

Front Page – Mackenzie Gore of Chase Field:

Mackenzie Gore fell behind early in the second of three games against Arizona’s D-backs at Chase Field, giving up a one-out shot to left field by Emmanuel Rivera in the bottom of the first.

Rivera’s first home run of 2023 flew 394 feet and diamondbacksThe third baseman hit a 1-1 knee-high curve from the center of the zone into the stands for a 1-0 lead.

Gore avoided a two-out single in the second on 17 pitches and induced an inning-ending double play after giving up a back-to-back one-out single in the third on 13 pitches. 0 in favor of the D-backs, the Nats’ starters are up to 48 pitches overall (No walk for a total of 3 Ks).

After taking a 2-1 lead after 3 1/2 hours, Gore had a one-out hit on the 4th pitch of the 12th pitch before taking turns retiring the side in the home half of the 5th pitch and scoring two strikeouts. Added. , from 21 batters faced, with a total of 7 Ks, 5 strong on 72 balls.

Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. and Christian Walker hit back-to-back singles off Gore in the sixth inning, with Gurriel, Jr. on a wild pitch to make it 2-2. After hitting his double again on a walk to Evan Longoria, Dominic Fletcher bunted both runners and Gore fielded the bunt before hitting first base and hitting his next two batters. struck out to keep the tie and end his batter. My night after 95 balls overall.

Mackenzie Gore quotes: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 Ks, 95 P, 63 S, 5/1 GO/FO.

“He was out nine hitters,” said manager Davey Martinez after a crushing 8-7 loss to the Diamondbacks. Another hit in a double play.that is [telltale sign] What Mackenzie can do. We always talk about him throwing 1 strike and moving on. When he does that, man, he’s tough, so it was a good lesson for him. So I’m proud of him for being out there and doing what he did today. He showed great emotion, great character. I mean, he was jacked up when he came out of the game, which was good for him. ”

As quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, Gore said after his outing. “We made a pitch in it [sixth] We inned as needed to minimize damage. ”

point!!!:

D-backs starter Tommy Henry held the Nationals hitless in the third round to lead 1-0, but the Nats hitters scored a southpaw in the top of the fourth and Luis García singled with one out. I put it out and went up with 1 RBI. He hit Joey Meneses and scored in front of Meneses on Keibert Lewis’ two-run double.

It was a 2-2 game after the sixth inning, but Carl Edwards Jr. gave up a run with a triple and an RBI single in the first two at-bats for a 3-2 AZ in the seventh.

Mason Thompson gave up two hits and a run early in the eighth inning, a 4-2 D-back, another single, and a sack bunt, and ROE made it 5-2 and another 6-2 on an RBI single before Martinez went. In the bullpen again for Thaddeus Ward, who scored the final two outs.

Keibert Ruiz hit a homer to take the lead 6-3 in the top of the ninth. Alex Cole walked with two outs to continue the inning, so the D-back replaced Scott McChoff with Andrew Chaffin, and after Michael Chavis’ single moved Cole to his third, both Ildemas. Lovargas scored on his single with two outs and two runs. 6-5. Lane Thomas stepped in next, turning on the runners and hitting a 419-foot two-run homer to left field to take a 7-6 lead.

However, Kyle Finnegan came out for the save in the bottom of the ninth, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a home run to make it 7–7. An intentional free pass with a single, walk, and one-out followed, loading the bases before the closer issued a walk-off walk to Pavin Smith to finish with an 8-7 D-back.

“I can’t say enough about what our team did,” Martinez said after the loss. And it shows a lot of fighting. It’s very representative of our team. And you have a team out there fighting back. See, we made it a battle. In the end, I couldn’t keep the lead.

Asked about Finnegan’s roughout, the sixth-year skipper said, “Finnegan throws the ball really well. He really has. I can’t forget what he did the other day to win the game. It was one of those days, and I have to come back tomorrow and do it all over again.”

“Look, we were depressed [four] The run goes into the ninth,” Martinez added. In the words of MASN reporter Mark Zuckerman.

“We came back and put up five spots. It’s great. I was already out there and said to them: ‘Hold your head up. You showed a lot of character.’ You’ve shown a lot of heart.Keep playing with that energy.We’ll get through these games.”

BACK PAGE – Victor Robles leaves the game …

Victor Robles started last night with a .292/.382/.360 line, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 9 walks, 14 K in 30 games in a season, 106 at-bats, and a big 25 at-bats. Campaign has started. A year-old outfielder, struggles over the past three seasons have raised questions about where he fits in at the rebooting ballclub.

This is the Victor Robles the Nationals have been looking for for the past few years.

“He swings the ball much better in the strike zone and gives himself time. He mostly stays in the middle of the field and has his base hits to right field, but really tries to stay on top of the ball.

Mark J. Levilas-USA TODAY Sports

“You know, Vic, when the ball is hot out of the bat, he makes good contact. It’s kind of his game, he’s on base and we’re allowing him to steal. [allowing him to be him] So he’s had a lot of fun so far. ”

According to his manager, the big difference for Robles this year is the maturity of the young center fielder, who made his major league debut at age 20 in 2017 and played center every day in 2019. world series winner.

“He learned a lot. About himself. He learned a lot about the game. My first conversation with him this year was, ‘Okay. He said to me, he said, “Okay. I understand what you’ve been trying to teach me over the years, who I need to be.” For me it’s maturity and he’s quite mature.

Unfortunately, Robles (After walking 17 times with a 407 last season, walking in his only at-bat, and his 10th walk with a 107 PA) was ejected with an injury in the top of the fourth inning.

Martinez told reporters after the game that it was a back issue that Robles tweaked something in his slide to second base on the stolen base attempt.

“He hurt his back a little bit,” Martinez explained.

Candelario dehydration:

Jaymer Candelario started in the Nationals’ first 32 games, but his name wasn’t in the lineup when he was released before Saturday night’s game.

29-year-old third baseman Davey Martinez, who signed a one-year $5M deal with the club this winter, felt dizzy after Friday night’s game and ended up in a local hospital, according to his manager. Arizona receives an IV and is diagnosed with dehydration.

“He felt sick. Paramedics came out to check on him,” Martinez told reporters. “He was basically dehydrated. They took him to the hospital and did blood tests just to make sure he was okay. , I would like to give him a day off today.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Candelario showed no signs of dizziness during the match, but felt dizzy shortly after the series opener.

“He went and took a shower and said he wasn’t feeling well,” Martinez said before the weekend’s second game at Chase Field.

“They put him to bed. But he still wasn’t feeling well… So we just wanted to make sure we checked him out.

Road Warriors?:

Davey Martinez’s club are 6-12 in their first 18 at home this season, coming off a 4-3 run in the series against the Pirates, cubs, and they arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, this weekend to battle a series against the D-backs with a 7-6 record so far. 500 record after losing the series opener at Chase Field was a decent start for the club as he finished the 2022 season with a 29-52 mark outside the capital.

How did their manager explain their play on the road in the first few weeks of the season?

“I think we’re going on tour. Just let them relax a little bit,” Martinez said before the club dipped below .500 with another loss last night.

“Take good care of the teams you play against and go out and play and have fun and that’s what they’ve been doing.”

They went 13-19 overall, but Martinez said he liked the way the club played. The fact that they’re doing consistently good is what made the difference when he went 6-5 in 11 games heading into Saturday night’s matchup.

Consistency, Martinez said: they feed each other. i love that about them. They play with a lot of energy. Let’s keep it going. ”

“Go on tour and keep playing the way you play.”