Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats swept in four-game series with Reds; ‘Pen steps up in extra innings loss…

Mackenzie Gore wasn’t happy with decision to call off game due to rain ¹⁄₃ Innings into the final inning of the series Cincinnati Reds The game was played Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and a delay of 1 hour, 43 minutes later ruled out any chance of the 24-year-old southpaw returning to the mound when play resumed.

At manager Davey Martinez’s postgame press conference after the 5-4 loss in the 10th inning, he said there was no debate about the starting pitcher.

“No. An hour and a half later we spoke to him and he was fine,” Martinez told reporters.

“I told him, ‘I’m not going to let you out like that.’

It took Gore a while to get off the mound when he started rolling out the tarp, but he probably knew that meant his last appearance before the All-Star Game was over.

“Mackenzie is a competitor,” catcher Riley Adams said of the starter’s reaction to the instruction to DeLay. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN.

“And he’s one of the most competitive players on the team,” Adams added.

“I’ve seen him slowly walk away from the field after being called to put down the tarp, and it shows how he wanted to stay on the field.”

Gore then threw in the bullpen, but Martinez said there was some wishful thinking due to both teams waiting for the rain to clear and working a little more.

Photo Credit: Rob Kerr/Getty Images

“When they said we could do it, [resume] The director explained: “…he said he could probably come back for a few innings, but after that he just said throw as many pitches as you could, and we’re going to do that.” Reset it. “

When the starting pitcher was out in second place, a parade of relief pitchers (Mason Thompson, Jordan Weems, Jose A. Ferrer, Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Corey Abbott) took the mound and did everything in his power to give the club a chance to avoid being swept in a four-game set against a hotly contested opponent (“…19 of the last 23 games, and 27 of the last 37,” he said ahead of the final game in D.C., after winning three straight games in the series against the Nationals.).

Thompson concedes two goals ²⁄₃ IP, Ferrer Gives Nationals 1 Point ¹⁄₃ Finnegan gave up one run with two hits in one inning, and in the eighth inning, the Reds tied the score at 3-3. In the top of the tenth, 5-3 before Abbott ended the inning.

“It starts with the first player and it’s about how far he can go,” Martinez said when asked how he approached to cover the innings the bullpen had to do after the rain postponement. He said,

“Mason did a great job, really did it. ²⁄₃ And he gave us more than that, which set the tone for the rest of us to follow suit. I thought they did a really good job. “

Photo Credit: Rob Kerr/Getty Images

Going to the extras after a delay of nearly two hours only made the game more difficult to complete.

“The guys have stepped up for the most part,” Martinez said after losing 14 of the last 15 at home at Nationals Park.

“Abbott came back after just one day off and finished the game for us, which was great.

“The big question is tomorrow. Let’s see what happens to everyone tomorrow.”