Washington Nationals news & notes: Positives coming out of Opening Day + Nats’ offense in opener…

Emphasize the positive:

They’re looking for positives to take away from an 8-2 season opener loss with Nick Senzel injured (before the game even started) and Josiah Gray struggling on the mound. cincinnati redsNationals manager Davey Martinez noted the efforts of Washington’s bullpen, which pitched four innings, allowing two total hits, one earned run, no walks, and an efficient frame.

Robert Garcia, Dylan Floro, Matt Barnes, and Tanner Rainey each pitched an inning, and after Gray came and finished in the eighth inning, Rainey gave up a single, struck out the batter, and scored on a fielder’s choice. After that, a grounder scored the only point.

“The bullpen was really, really good,” Martinez told reporters at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. “I think it was a combination of what they threw.” [48] I pitched four innings, so that was definitely a positive. ”

Rainey, who returned from Tommy John surgery and appeared in one major league game in late 2023, maintained his fastball at 92.2 mph (down from his past average of 96-97 mph), but the problem resolved itself early this spring. He said it will be resolved as he moves forward into this season. Coach Martinez allowed Rainey to participate based on the situation for his 2024 debut.

“I was nervous on opening day,” Martinez explained. “He’ll get that out of the way. Let’s see what happens on Saturday.”

Cincy Crime:

The Nationals’ batters didn’t have much help against Reds starting pitcher Frankie Montas, who pitched 81 efficient pitches in six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, no walks and four strikeouts.

The Nationals’ only score in the opening game was a two-run home run by Eddie Rosario off relief pitcher Emilio Pagán in the top of the seventh inning.

It was a 389-foot hit to right for the 32-year-old slugger, who signed with the Nationals late this spring (March 8).

Rosario had some catching up to do when he arrived at spring training in West Palm Beach, but his manager said things are going well for the veteran as he begins his 10th season in the majors.

“His timing is much better,” Martinez said. “It was a good at-bat. It was a really good at-bat. He got the ball he could handle and crushed it. He’s definitely going to help us. And I saw that home run today. , I’ve seen him hit home runs many times.”

What about the rest of the crimes? Were they chasing and applying pressure on opening day? Was Montas of the Reds just sharp?

“Honestly, I think it was a little bit of both,” Martinez told reporters.

“Montas threw the ball really well. I knew I had to get the ball up in the zone with him, but I was often led wide and hit two strikes. And early in the count. Even, we just swung at pitches that we shouldn’t have swung at. We want to be aggressive, but we also want to be aggressive in the zone, and we did pretty well with that in the spring, so we’re going to have to be aggressive there. I need to go back.”

Martinez said a day off after the excitement of the season opener will be good for his team as they aim to go toe-to-toe with the Reds.

“Tomorrow is an off day, I have to come back and come back stronger. Opening day is always weird. Lots of adrenaline. Unusually, we chased a lot of balls. We didn’t do that in the spring. We zoned the ball. You have to get it in. Get the ball in the zone and hit the ball hard. Joey. [Meneses] I had a good day swinging the bat, but overall I just have to get the ball in the zone and be ready to hit. ”

In any case, it wasn’t just an afterthought (after the loss) that Martinez said how strange opening day was and something that should hopefully be overcome with a win.

“Opening day can be difficult, it really can be,” he said before the game, but he wanted all the players to embrace it and enjoy it. “Today I want them to embrace it, stay on their feet and go out there and play.”

Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images

“I told everyone, ‘Come on, you should be excited,'” Martinez said of his message heading into the game. “I hope you all catch butterflies too. For me, he’s 38 years old… [laughs] …But take it all in. Like I said, you only get one each year, so take it all in, but be ready to play. ”

He said he liked the way the club concluded spring training and hopes to carry that into the regular season.

“We finished spring training in pretty good shape, so we want them to build on that and build on what they did last year,” he explained. “Some of our young players performed very well at the end of last year and came into spring training more confident. CJ [Abrams],Kibert [Ruiz]Mackenzie [Gore]Josiah [Gray], [Jake] Irvin, they’re a little more relaxed now that they’ve gotten some solid time in the major leagues. So I want them to keep doing what they’re doing, keep processing everything, build on what they did last year and hit the ground running. ”