Washington Nationals news & notes: Off-day notes and quotes – Josiah Gray, Patrick Corbin + more…

Josiah Gray’s replacement:

Joan Adon started in place of injured Josiah Gray at Oracle Park on Tuesday night, but the 25-year-old starter (He was successfully acquitted in San Francisco.) was optioned out to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday, and catcher Drew Millas was called up for the final game against the Giants.

Nationals captain Davey Martinez was asked before the second of three games in the series whether Jackson Rutledge would be available while Josiah Gray rests his elbow injury.

Rutledge, a 2019 first-round pick who recently turned 25, debuted with the Nationals in late 2023 and impressed in spring training this year before being optioned out to Triple-A Rochester. With Gray’s spot filled, will we see him appear again in the majors soon?

And why wasn’t he selected for Tuesday’s rotation?

“I wanted [Rutledge] We need to get a few more starts before we decide what to do,” Martinez told reporters.

“I want him to go out there and feel really good about himself. He’s throwing good ball, but we want to get him going.

“And we’ll find out in the near future what his situation is here.”

Gray said in comments after landing on the IL that it was frustrating not being able to go out there every five days and help the team for a while.

“It sucks,” he said simply. “Since joining the Nationals, I’ve made every scheduled start. And I was proud to do it.

“So obviously coming to the ballpark and not being able to be part of a five-man rotation for the foreseeable future is a little disappointing.

“Especially in today’s game, our job as pitchers is a harsh reality.

“The risk of injury has increased. It definitely gives you a sense of the reality of what we’re doing. I don’t think that will change.”

As General Manager and Director of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo said this during his weekly visit to Sports Junkies on Audacy’s “106.7 The Fan.” On Wednesday morning, they will be paying close attention to Gray as he recovers from what has been diagnosed as a “right elbow/forearm flexor injury.”

Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire, Getty Images

As Martinez and Gray said in Tuesday’s presentation, diagnostics and an MRI of the elbow/forearm went as well as expected, and no UCL issues were identified.

“When you’re talking about pitchers going to the league, I think this is as good news as it can be.” [Injured List]” Lizzo told Junkies. “He had some tenderness in his elbow, and I think you could see it before the game started, but in my opinion, he didn’t look like himself. He was pushing the baseball, [velocity] I went down a little, but I didn’t feel anything. He was very good for him and he could pitch in the next bullpen and say something. We had him checked out. The MRI looked good. There was some inflammation, but the ligaments are very sound, thick, and healthy, so that’s a good sign. So we’re going to strengthen him and get him going, but we’re going to be careful and patient and take our time like we do with any pitcher and see if he gets some rest and comes back, comes back and , returns to the state it was in at the beginning of last year. ”

After the Nationals lost 7-1 in the final game against the Giants, Milas was given the option to return to Triple-A Rochester. What’s the next move before the next series against the A’s begins in Oakland?

“I think ultimately we’re going to need another pitcher. Our bullpen was pretty beat up, so we’ll take a day to figure it out and we’ll know what we’re going to do on Friday,” Martinez said.

No sweep:

Davey Martinez’s club took 2 of 3 from the Giants at Oracle Park, but fell short of the sweep, losing 7-1 in the final game.

San Francisco played well and won a few games, but things fell apart for Washington in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday when Jacob Young chased a fly ball (from Nik Ahmed’s bat) that hit the center field wall and was ejected, forcing the inning to be extended. Ta. That’s when he hit the fence hard and it flew out of his glove. Matt Chapman, who singled in the first inning, scored on a hit to center field (Ahmed tripled) and scored two more runs before the inning was over.

Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin hit two home runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth inning, and the Giants extended their lead and avoided a sweep with a six-run victory.

“I made a lot of mistakes,” Martinez explained after the loss.

“Jacob’s tough play” [Young]. he did a great job. Once he holds that ball, we end the inning, and [Corbin] Conceding 3 goals.

“They hit some balls hard, but a lot of them were dinkers. But they actually conceded runs because of mistakes.”

Corbin ended up allowing 11 hits and seven earned runs in five games. ²⁄₃ Oracle Park IP.

“His line won’t be good,” the manager said. “But I thought he pitched better than Serif. So we’re going to get him back in the field and get him fired up. When he threw the ball down, he was effective. And once again, When he threw the ball up, it hit me pretty hard.”

However, Martinez’s club won the series.

“I think the first two games were good. This one is not very good. We didn’t hit. We made some mistakes. But we are playing well.”

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