Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats no-hit by Dylan Cease; swept by Padres in D.C.

Not in DC:

San Diego PadresStarter Dylan Cease held the Washington Nationals hitless through four innings. ²⁄₃ On June 26 against the Nationals at Petco Park, Schiess threw one inning before allowing a single by former Nationals infielder Nick Senzel, breaking the record for just the second no-hitter in franchise history.

The 28-year-old right-hander, making his second start of the year against manager Davey Martinez’s team, allowed just one hit early on and then struck out 21 batters in 13 innings to secure his second straight win.

On Thursday afternoon in the nation’s capital, Cease made the right call, waiting out a 76-minute rain interruption in the top of the first inning before taking the mound in the series finale in Washington, D.C., and throwing the first no-hitter by a Padres starting pitcher since Joe Musgrove’s no-hitter in 2021.

That’s the first time Washington has won in Nationals history (2005 to present). [was] The last no-hitter will be thrown on August 9, 2023 in Philadelphia (Michael Lorenzen).

Cease issued three walks and struck out nine of the 28 batters he faced, recording 18 strikeouts (11 with sliders) and 15 strikes (nine with four-seam fastballs).

“It was a great performance,” Padres captain Mike Shildt said after the game, according to MLB.com.

“I was close,” Sees told reporters. Including AJ Cassavell of MLB.comhe has attempted to throw a no-hitter so far in his career.

“And to finally get to do it is just amazing and an incredible feeling. To be able to do it and be able to go out and experience it, I don’t even know how to feel honestly. I’m just happy.”

On the other hand, it was seen as equally remarkable.

“It’s always a bad feeling when you get no-hittered,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters after his team lost their third straight game.

“but [Cease] Really good. Really good when I played him there. He hit great breaking balls both times today. We knew that, but it was really, really good. He kept the hitters off balance the whole game. I watched him play the whole game and he didn’t give him much of a chance to hit. … [I]When he steps up to bat, it’s going to be tough, and he throws his fastball when he needs to and as you saw at the end, I think he threw it 100 mph last time. [MPH]He was great. He was great. I salute him. He was really great today.”

Martinez knew there was potential trouble before the game, but he didn’t exactly predict a no-hitter (though, by his own account, it came close).

How did the Nationals approach the game?

“You’ve got to get him in the zone first, and then if you fall behind, it’s tough,” Martinez said.

“But for me, when you’re facing a guy like that, you can’t cover everything. But it’s tough because he throws everything for strikes, whether it’s a curveball or a slider. I threw James a couple of fastballs. [Wood]”So today was a very tough match for the hitters. He was pitching well. I watched him pitch before the series and I said, ‘This pitcher, when he’s in good form, he’s going to be tough to hit.’

Corbyn’s efforts:

Patrick Corbin (With the help of a teammate) ended their 11-game winless streak (0-6, Nationals 1-10) pitched six innings in the rotation, Cincinnati Reds last week.

In the opening of the second half of the episode, Corbin was the firstA completely pointless pitcherHe earned his first win since May 10, holding the Reds to three hits and one run over six innings while striking out six and walking no batters.

“Corbin was good. Corbin was really good,” the manager said. Davey Martinez said after the win. In the country’s capital.

“He pitched really well, which is what we needed after four days of rest.”

Corbin finished his 20th start and the final year of his six-year, $140 million contract in D.C. with a 5.35 ERA, 4.50 FIP, 36 walks (2.92 per nine innings), 79 strikeouts (6.41 per nine innings) and a .297/.349/.492 batting average over 111 innings.

Corbin started the fifth inning Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park, singled and walked with one out and walked with the bases loaded with two outs before a 76-minute rain delay, but the starter’s day wasn’t over.

Corbin returned to the mound and allowed a bases-clearing single to make the score 3-0, but he went on to pitch six more innings, throwing a total of 109 pitches in the seventh inning and allowing just three runs in the opening innings.

He struck out swinging just seven times and five times on his cutter, but called 21 strikes, nine each on his sinker and slider, two on his fastball and one on his cutter.

Martinez spoke after the game about his decision to keep Corbin in the lineup despite the postponement.

“There was a little incident about an hour and a half, an hour and 45 minutes later so I thought it would be a good situation to bring him back on and like I said, he played great,” he explained. Quote from MASN’s Bobby Blanco.

“I owe Corbyn a huge thank you,” Martinez added.

“He was great. Really great. The first inning was a little tough. We got rained out. He was here for a while, came back in and gave up three runs. But then, at first, I thought the relief corps was going to be a mess heading into the weekend. But he threw 109 pitches for seven innings, which was phenomenal. That’s what I knew about Patrick. When he pitches, Patrick doesn’t try to get out of the game, he pitches innings. I was trying to get as many outs as I could. So he was really good.”

Josiah Gray TJS:

Davey Martinez confirmed last week that Josiah Gray will undergo surgery on his right elbow.

But at the time, Washington’s manager didn’t know whether the 26-year-old would undergo full Tommy John surgery or brace surgery.Or both)?

“He’s going to have surgery,” Martinez told reporters during his pregame press conference at Nationals Park. “He has a mild tear in his biceps.”

“At this point he’s going to have surgery, we don’t know if he’ll be in a brace or have full surgery. [Tommy John surgery]… Time will tell once they go in and investigate and see how bad the lacerations are. He’s going to be out for a while.”

“I went to see the doctor. [Keith] “During the All-Star break, Meister discovered he had a small partial tear in his UCL,” Gray explained. Quote from MASN’s Bobby Blanco.

“So I’ve decided to opt for elbow surgery. Obviously, that means I’m done for the year. There’s still a long way to go, but that’s what the doctors have said, I’ve heard their advice and I’m going to get going soon.”

GM and Director of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo speaks with 106.7 the FAN’s Sports Junkies He spoke Wednesday about Gray’s future and what he told the Nationals’ young starting pitcher before undergoing surgery.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“When JoJo was leaving for the airport, I told him, ‘You’re not going to die. This isn’t a death sentence. We’ve been through this a thousand times before. This is Tommy John surgery, so hang in there, you’re going to get through the surgery,'” Rizzo told The Junkies.

“‘[Dr. Keith Meister] “He’s a brilliant surgeon and he’s done this surgery millions of times, and we’ve done millions of rehabs. Players who’ve had this surgery have had 10-year, 15-year careers, All-Stars, MVPs, all kinds of careers. It’s not a death sentence.”

But Rizzo noted that there is always a long road ahead for pitchers to return after surgery.

“‘This is going to be a year of solitude and hard work and determination and finding out who I am as a person because I’m going to be stuck in West Palm Beach for so long, training through hot summer days essentially by myself,'” he explained.

“Now is the time to really take stock, get through this and come out as a better pitcher than when I got through this.

“‘Your elbow is going to get healthy, you’re going to work on other parts of your game and all parts of your body, and then when you start pitching again, it’s going to be a lot of mechanical adjustments to make sure you don’t reinjure your elbow, so you’ve got to be ready for all of that.'”

He also gave Gray something to look forward to going into the process.

“I told him, ‘Hey, this time next year, you could be my big acquisition at the trade deadline, come off the injured list and pitch for us.’

After Wednesday night’s game, Martinez told reporters what he found out.

“He had reconstructive surgery,” the captain said. “As we all know, he’s not going to be able to play. But he’s fine. He’s feeling fine. I think he’s going to be back to see us tomorrow.”

“He’s got a long road ahead of him, he knows that, but knowing him, he’ll work hard to get back.”

Subsequent reports said Gray ultimately underwent TJS/total ligament replacement surgery. and Medial elbow brace procedure.