Jaymer Candelario hit a home run in the top of the eighth to push Washington’s Nationals to one point. chicago cubs In last night’s series finale at Wrigley Field, Dominic Smith and Corey Dickerson hit back-to-back two-out singles, while Luis Garcia capitalized the inning and dived into the first pitch slider thrown by Cubby’s right-hander Julian Merryweather to hit center to tie it 3-3.
However, it was not tied for long.
Mason Thompson took the mound in the back of the inning to replace lefty Joe La Sorsa and allowed a lead, a walk, a bunt single and a sack fly to put the home team back in the lead, 4-3.
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Thompson was able to get two outs on the 33rd pitch, but it was a two-out walk (After pitching 27 in the series opener in Chicago), bringing the manager out on the mound to make changes.
“His mechanic [were] I was a little out of shape today, and after throwing so many pitches, I ended up with 33 pitches, so I started to get nervous. So we have to get him back to where he was a few days ago, really a lot of pitching for him,” coach Davey Martinez told reporters after the Nationals lost 8-3 after Cory Abbott allowed a grand slam on behalf of Thompson.
“We fought back,” Martinez added. “…we’re back. After the dip, we’re back and all that’s left is to get some guys together at the back of the bullpen and take outs. Walk, walk, that’s what’s really killing us now. At the end you’re going to have a lot of guys walking, so you have to get back to throwing strikes and making them swing the bat a little bit.”
Thompson struggled to throw strikes (only 15 of 33 pitches) and was slow to start as several things the manager deemed mechanical issues led to a storm.
“His arms, his arm grooves were shorter,” Martinez said. “So we had to stretch his length again to get him back in a throwable position. Once we did that, his head was forward.
“So we’re going to talk to him and work together again to put him right.”
Thompson, who had a 3.68 ERA, 3.75 FIP and a .241/.320/.346 batting average in 44 IPs in 37 games, said he was “just a little nervous” on the mound.
“I felt like I couldn’t just chase them like I used to. Overall, I have to do a better job moving forward, staying ahead and pitching better there.”
Asked whether it was a physical problem or a mentality problem that prevented him from doing so, the 25-year-old reliever said, “It’s a bit of both.”
Thompson said, “I think you’re trying too hard to get in the game, especially in a tied game like that. .
His manager said he will practice a bit before the next game on Friday and see if he can get Thompson. (and the rest of the injury-plagued bullpen in a pinch)) back into orbit.
“I have time tomorrow. I will be back on Friday. I will work with him,” Martinez said.
“He’ll throw a light bullpen as usual, but we’ve got some drills to work with him to get him back and make him feel like he’s regaining his arm a little bit.
“I want you to throw, but I want you to throw when you’re doing well.”
As for the Nationals overall bullpen, they’ve already lost Thaddeus Ward, Hunter Harvey to injury this month and Paolo Espino on Wednesday.Espino had seven hits, two walks and eight earned runs in Tuesday’s 17-3 loss.), Martinez said before the game that it was time for some of the underperformed relievers to get a chance to step up.
“It’s hard to spend half the season with guys like that.” [have] You worked really hard, but all of a sudden I felt a little lonely,” he said.
“But you get the chance to meet the other players we have and see what they can do here. It’s just part of the game.”
After the loss, Martinez said everyone must come together. Trevor Williams got off to a good start (7H, 2BB, 2ER), but dropped out after throwing a total of 98 pitches in just five innings, and had to maintain a close lead in the bullpen as the visiting team scored just one point in the first seven.
“We have to keep fighting,” Martinez said.
“We’ll definitely score a few more points. I think our starters pushed them in a little bit. I got it today, I wish I could have brought Trevor back on the field again.” [in the sixth]but after dropping out of the second inning, he pitched 98 pitches. [rain-impacted] A game of his last outing. So I would like to be careful of the starting pitcher. But I think they’ll step up and start pitching deeper in the game, and we’ll figure out the back end here as we go along. ”
Thompson spoke about the pressure on the bullpen right now and how the bullpen will need to cope going forward.
“You have to treat it like you always have,” he said. “Just keep playing games, just keep competing, keep playing games trying to get ahead, keep getting ahead, and that’s what it all boils down to. At the end of the day, it’s the same game. We just have to go out and do a better job to help the team win.”