Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats beat Cards, 14-3; reportedly trade Jesse Winker to Mets…

Will Irving get back on track?

In 20 starts before the All-Star break, Jake Irvin had a 3.49 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 29 walks (2.25 walks per nine innings) and 99 strikeouts (7.68 strikeouts per nine innings) for a .231 ERA/.283 on-base percentage/.395 slugging percentage in 116 innings.

Irvin’s final two starts of the “first half” were tough, as the 27-year-old gave up 18 hits, five walks and 13 runs (12 earned) in 10 innings, resulting in consecutive losses.

But he returned from the break with seven points against Cincinnati before taking on St. Louis on Saturday night.

Irvin said the short break helped him get back on track for his first start of the second half.

“I think the break was a bit of a refresher,” he explained. Quote from MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

“I just have to remember to keep my feet on the ground, keep my eyes on my feet and live in attack mode.”

“He pitched really well in the first half,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said ahead of the second half of a three-game series against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

“He stumbled a little bit at the end, but he came back in the second half and pitched really well the other day. Hopefully he can come back out there and do the same thing. He’s pitched really well. I know they’ve talked to him a little bit.” [getting] “His mechanics were a little bit too quick. Everything was slower in his last start, so we want him to keep doing that.”

The seventh-year captain said Irvin responded well to the short rest last year as the team tried to guide him in his first major league game and control the innings.

“It’s helped him a lot. It really has. He’s figured it out a little bit, not just physically but mentally. The short break has helped him, so we’ll see over the next month or so. We’ll probably look at going to a six-man rotation again or doing something different to give them a little bit of rest. But we want to get them up and understand what it feels like to go out there and pitch every five days and also get them on the mound for innings, because we’ve got to develop them so we can use them when we get to the playoffs.”

Following his strong start against the Reds, Irvin scored five runs for the Nationals. ¹⁄₃ He contributed to the 14-3 victory over the Cardinals, giving up four hits and two runs (1 home runHe threw 96 pitches, striking out 10 and calling 14 strikeouts, allowing no runs in one inning, walking one batter and striking out five.

“Jake was my best guy. He ran some pretty good lineups. [in check] And we were able to score a lot of goals,” Martinez said after the win.

“I think moving on was a big thing,” Irvin said. Quote from MASN’s Mark Zuckermanhis own start.

“I tried to keep my opponent off balance with good counts, and it all pretty much paid off.”

Attack Explosion:

Irvin got plenty of support on Saturday as the Nationals scored 14 runs on 16 hits. Lane Thomas was 1-for-4 with three runs scored. Jesse Winker was 2-for-3 but appears to have been traded. New York Mets In the middle of the game, Juan Yepes went 2-for-5 with a double. James Wood went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs, his second double in the majors. Cavert Lewis went 1-for-6 with a three-run homer and scored seven runs in the sixth inning to seal the game. Jacob Young walked two and scored two runs. Harold Ramirez took over for Winker and went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

“It was a weird start to the game,” Martinez said of the offensive outburst.

“I think I left 12 runners on base,” he added, which was accurate, though he was just 9-for-20 with runners in scoring position.

“We got wins in big situations and our guys started getting good at-bats.

“We got the ball in the zone and started driving the ball into the gaps instead of chasing.”

Winker to Mets:

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to break the news last night that the Nationals were trading Jesse Winker to the New York Mets for a fee that had yet to be disclosed (as of 1:30 a.m.).

This marks the Nationals’ second major trade before the July 30 trade deadline, after they traded Hunter Harvey to Kansas City for 22-year-old Cayden Wallace and a 2022 second-round draft pick. Wallace is a 2022 second-round draft pick who was the Royals’ No. 2 ranked prospect prior to the trade, according to MLB Pipeline.

GM and Director of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo told 106.7 FAN on DC’s Sports Junkies. Last Wednesday morning, after signing with the Royals, the phone started ringing.

“Since signing Harvey, teams have contacted us about certain players,” Rizzo said.

“We have a good bullpen and a lot of guys that can help a championship contender team. We have some hitters that can help a championship contender team. If they feel one of our guys can help a championship contender team, they’ll make a call and we’ll listen. That’s kind of our job.”

“We’re not going to make a trade for the sake of making a trade. We’re not going to make a bad trade, but we’ll be aggressive when the right thing comes along. We feel we have an obligation to take the right action moving forward.”

Winker signed a one-year deal for $2 million in February, but his name was frequently mentioned as a player that Rizzo and others in the Nationals front office could try to trade as they try to build the next competitive team in the nation’s capital.

Manager Davey Martinez was asked after last night’s game what he’ll miss most with Winker gone.

“He brought energy every day and was just a fun guy,” Martinez said. “His preparation, his routine. He was ready to play every day and it showed. He did really well for us. We wish him the best of luck until he plays against us, but we’re going to miss him. Like I said, he brings energy every day.”

“He’s a great kid, fun to be around. I loved him, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of him. I thought he had a lot more going for him. I know he’s had injuries. He’s stayed healthy for us for the most part and played really well.”

Both Martinez and Winker found out about the trade midway through the game.

“Honestly, I didn’t know when he left the game. He came out and started saying goodbye to everybody, I think on Twitter. That was tough.”