Irving vs ATL – Round 2:
Jake Irvin struck out 10 in six innings against Atlanta in his last trip, then threw 90 pitches and didn’t walk a single batter against the Braves at Truist Park.
“Just a good, consistent combination, throwing the four-seam fastball at the top of the zone,” Irvin said of his success in the game.
“That was our focus this week. We executed well and [it] It leads to good things.”
“Great,” manager Davey Martinez said of Irvin’s pitching. “He was good. Really good. To strike out 10 against a team like that is pretty impressive. He pitched really well.”
Irvin also had a strong start in Cleveland (6 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts).
Last night in the nation’s capital, Irvin held the Nationals’ NL East rivals scoreless for six innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while throwing 96 pitches and 64 strikes. In the fifth inning, the leadoff batter hit a double, and in the sixth inning, the leadoff batter singled and doubled to put runners on first and third with no outs, but the starting pitcher kept the score at zero for three consecutive outs to hold on to a 2-0 lead and win the game, 2-1.
Irvin struck out 16 times, nine on curveballs and five on fastballs, and also called 12 strikes, six on sinkers, four on curveballs and two on fastballs.
The Nationals’ two runs came in the fourth inning, when C.J. Abrams hit a double to left field in the top of the inning and Nick Senzel walked with one out, after which both players stole bases (Abrams had nine stolen bases, Senzel had one; Senzel was the only regular player without a stolen base at this point that year).
Abrams scored on a throwing error on the play to make the score 1-0. Senzel scored later in the inning on an RBI single by Ildemaro Vargas to make the score 2-0.
“[Irvin] “It was good,” Martinez said after tying two games in a four-game series against the Braves this weekend. “We just played them last week and pitched great against them again. They’re a tough team, as we all know. They can hit, so I was really impressed with how our two starters performed in these first two games. They really were. They hung in there. We faced some tough pitchers.” [Chris Sale]”… We scored enough points. Sometimes even just having one more point than the other guy helps, you know? So I’m just proud of the guys.”
“A lineup like this is a tough job. These guys are really good, so for me it’s all about competing,” Irvin told reporters.
“I just pitched really well and kept my concentration high throughout the innings.”
Irvin’s final innings especially caught the manager’s eye, who praised the young starter for keeping his cool even after two runners reached base at the start of the sixth inning.
“He’s learned a lot in a short amount of time how to maintain control in these situations,” Martinez said. “So, in high-leverage situations, he doesn’t seem to get too upset. He doesn’t seem to be bothered. So, he knows what he has to do, and he’s done a really good job.”
“The most important thing is not to let it slip away when you get into a pivotal situation like this,” the captain added.
“It’s OK if we give up runs, but we can always bounce back if we get back on our feet. But when we start to get off a roll, we give up a walk, the next batter gets a hit, things get a little weird. But he’s done really well in those situations.”
“I’ve got to be a little more focused,” Irvin said. “In those situations, sometimes you give up and ruin a quality game. I’ve got to just compete. I’m going to do everything I can to stay ahead in the game. And I’ve got to be a little more accurate.”
Jake Irvin again pitched six scoreless innings against the Braves, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out four.
The right-hander spoke to reporters in the clubhouse after the second game. pic.twitter.com/VYkl3DbE4M
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Derek Law pitched a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts, and Hunter Harvey allowed two hits in the eighth for the Braves’ only run but finished the game 2-1, before Kyle Finnegan got the leadoff batter on a wild pitch/third strikeout, got a double play and struck out the other batter to earn his 17th save.
“They fought the whole game, we hung in there and then Finnegan came in and closed the door,” Martinez said.
Running Games:
Before last night’s game, the Washington Nationals led the major leagues with 95 stolen bases this season, but of the 24 runners they have caught stealing, 10 have been caught in the past 15 games, the most in the major leagues over that span, and their 24 intercepted stolen bases are the third-most in the major leagues this year.
“I think some of the guys that are tasked with stealing bases aren’t doing it as well,” manager Davey Martinez said of the recent decline in the team’s success rate in stealing bases.
“They need to get out there and wreak havoc.”
As the seventh-year captain has said all season, running is part of this club’s DNA and sometimes you have to run to get things done offensively, but he said the club has been putting too much pressure on itself lately.
Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“I think we’re pushing the envelope a little too much,” he explained. “It’s because we’re not scoring runs and we’re starting to put pressure on ourselves as a team and trying to make something happen. I think we’ll get back on track. If our guys can start swinging the bat better, we’ll definitely have a higher success rate. I always say you have to get on first base and then push the envelope. That’s the style we have.”
He also stressed that choosing the right location is important.
“There are certainly some situations where we have to be a little smarter. [Mets’ catcher Luis] Torrence had a good arm as a catcher. The other guy [starter Luis Severino] “We’re coming up to bat pretty early, so it’s not a good time to steal bases. We’ve got to figure out when to run and when not to run. But I really like our aggressiveness. But we’ve got to get on base and start scoring more runs, especially early on.”
“Like I said yesterday, we scored early and the game became different.”
