The Washington Nationals avoided a sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians by rallying past on Sunday 7-6, thanks to a late-inning surge.
The Nats also hit a pair of home runs in the victory. Both the rally and the power are notable because they’ve been isolated incidents this year.
For a while, the pitching has been porous at times (21st in MLB in team ERA); what’s been a disaster is an offense that ranks 28th in the majors in scoring and is tied for last with eight home runs.
Sunday’s win aside, they’re also fading in the late innings, hitting just .184 (29th in MLB) with a big-league worst 13 runs after the sixth. It’s still April, but it’s getting late early in the 2023 season.
Digesting the Division: We’re at what used to be the NFL season point of 16 games and Atlanta (12-4) has a three-game lead over the New York Mets (10-6). The Braves entered Sunday’s game leading the majors in on-base percentage and have Ronald Acuña Jr. (. 373 batting average with NL-high 16 runs scored) atop their lineup.
The Mets are getting solid pitching from Tylor Megill (3-0 with a 2.25 ERA) to begin April.
Miami (8-8) is getting scalding production from Luis Arráez who leads the majors with a .471 batting average (alas, he plays for the Marlins, so the infielder only has seven runs scored this year).
The Nats (5-11) are already seven games back. When do we start posting the elimination number?
Break up the Birds: The Baltimore Orioles (9-7) might not lead the AL East (and they’ve yet to play previously 13-0 Tampa Bay), but the bats are a-popping this month. They’re 7th in the majors in doubles and 6th in homers this season, and those are big reasons why they’re second in MLB to Tampa Bay in runs scored.
Ryan Mountcastle tied a team record with nine runs batted in a game last week, and has 20 for the season, which prorates to 203 over a 162-game stretch (the record is 191 by Hack Wilson in 1930).
Last Week’s Heroes: Jeimer Candelario hit .423 with a homer and a team-high five RBI. Luis Garcia hit .333 and led the team with two homers. Trevor Williams allowed just one run over five innings. Anthony Banda tossed one scoreless inning over two games, while Kyle Finnegan saved both of the Nats’ wins.
Last Week’s Humbled: Chad Kuhl allowed five runs over 4.2 innings, while reliever Hobie Harris surrendered two runs over two innings. Alex Call hit .136, while Dominic Smith batted .160 and Victor Robles hit .167.
Game to Watch: Tuesday, the Orioles are in town and the Nats are pitching Josiah Gray (0-3 but has a 2.31 ERA over his last two starts) against Dean Kremer who’s allowed 13 runs over 12.1 innings this April. One smells the possibilities.
Game to Miss: Sunday, the Nats wrap up their series with Minnesota, and Patrick Corbin (1-2, 6.30 ERA) gets the start. One smells the possibilities, and not in a good way.
