Washington Nationals news & notes: Joan Adon struggles in 5-3 loss to Braves; Tanner Rainey returns…

Learn more about add-ons:

Last week, in the nation’s capital against Atlanta, Washington Nationals starter Joan Adon pitched three scoreless innings with a single and a walk.

However, although the Nationals had a 3-0 lead after three innings, the Nationals’ 25-year-old starter struggled with a leadoff walk, a double, a two-out RBI double, and a two-run home run. They led the Braves 4-3, and the visiting team ultimately won 8-5.

“He had a good game tonight,” Nats captain Davey Martinez said. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN.

“We jumped out and gave him a three-run lead, and then he just decided he wasn’t going to attack the strike zone. He threw a curveball and a changeup in that inning to go up 2-0. And all of a sudden he’s behind everybody. He has to learn: We score for him, the next inning is a shutdown inning. He’s aggressive. must continue to be.”

“The first time I got in the lineup, I was ahead of the count,” Adon explained. “And the second time, I fell behind.”

Adon said he knows he can take on the six-time National League East champions again in his final outing of the year, and he thinks he can. Best offensive power in the majors This season.

“I think we have the pitching to beat them,” he said. “Every time I get ahead of them, the results are very different.”

Last night, in the Nationals’ penultimate game of the season against the Braves again, this time at Twist Park in Atlanta, Adon once again built a 3-0 lead before taking the mound. , and he pitched two scoreless innings, giving up a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI in the third, 3-1.

Adon returned in the fourth inning with a single and a walk, and was hit with a double and an RBI by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, respectively, to make it 3-2, with Albees reversing the game with a three-run home run. Marcell Ozuna scored late in the inning, giving the Braves a 5-3 lead, which it remained.

“We jumped out early and got three points, but it’s just a matter of getting four or more from Adon,” Martinez said after the home team tied the game in the final series of the regular season between the two teams. Ta.

“He has to go to the bullpen right away because the pitch count is driving him, but we fought all night. We hit some balls hard and got lined out a few times. But I couldn’t do it today.”

He pitched a total of 88 pitches and had nine strikeouts (4 on his four seamer), 13 Call Strike (spread between his five pitches), 20 pitches fouled off.

Adon has now played 27 games and started 25 at the age of 25, but he needs to do more to take the next step and start regularly beyond the fifth or sixth game. Shouldn’t it?

“He has to get one step forward and keep running forward,” the manager said.

“When he does that, he’s good and effective. He just hits foul balls late and gets more pitch counts.”

Martinez added during the game that he liked Adon’s pitch mix this time around.

“He had a combination of fastball and breaking ball today. His changeup was really effective and he knows he has to use it, but the fastball was great and he threw it in good spots. But , like I said, when he stepped back, and he swung and fouled and fouled, and then the next time he looked up, you could see he had a lot of balls.”

Rainie is back:

“We’re looking at ways to get him on the roster,” manager Davey Martinez said earlier this week about the possibility of Tanner Rainey, who returned to the mound in the majors last night in Atlanta after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2022. he said. , Truist Park, GA.

“We might have to. Some of our bullpen guys are hanging in there a little bit.

“We might activate him here in Atlanta, we might activate him tomorrow if we need him. So I want him to be with us today. He’s going to pitch out of the bullpen, and we’ll see where we are.”

Before the series opener against the Braves, the Nationals placed reliever Robert Garcia on the paternity list, moved catcher Riley Adams to the 60-day injured list and placed hard-throwing Rainey on the 60-day injured list. I was brought back from.

“I kind of had a hunch,” he said of getting the chance late in the season. Quoted by MASN reporter Mark Zuckerman. “I talked to Davey and he told me it was.” [possible] This trip is a little weird. This was also my last outing last year. He pitched two innings here in July, which was his last pitching. It’s a little strange to be back here. ”

Rainey appeared in 13 games at four levels in the Nationals’ minor league system in recent weeks before returning to the majors, pitching hard against the National League East champions, averaging 96.2 mph and a high on 10 fastballs. I recorded 96.8 miles. , with some sliders mixed in, averages 87.1 mph.

Martinez was happy to have him back.

“We thought we were going to get him out there, and we lost a couple point lead, but it was a good part of the lineup for him and he did really well. As we saw, he did really well, and as I knew and as we talked to him, he’s an adrenaline guy and he’d come in, his velo would be in the mid-90s. He’s going to go up, and his slider was really great and effective.”

“I’m proud of him. He worked really hard and was able to pitch in the game. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but he did a great job.”