Following their opening series with the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals set a course for Philadelphia to square off with the division rival Phillies. For the second series in a row, the Nats find themselves dropping two out of three.
In Friday night’s opening contest, pitcher Gio Gonzalez went 6 1/3. Six of those innings were a scoreless dominating performance until back-to-back walks and a hit batter led to Nats Manager Matt Williams bringing in pitcher Xavier Cedeno to try and work out of the bases loaded jam.
It took just one pitch for Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez to drive in two runs on a line drive single to right field. Cedeno’s night would be short lived, getting pulled after he plunked Philadelphia outfielder Ben Revere. The Phillies would go on to score four runs in the seventh, solidifying the lead that would eventually give them the win.
Saturday was a better performance from Washington, but the Nationals could not seal the deal. They fell in extra innings off a double from Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera‘s double in the bottom of the 10th which scored catcher Carlos Ruiz from second.
Nationals’ pitcher Doug Fister was handed a no-decision after tossing a clean six innings, giving up six hits and no runs; he was replaced by pitcher Matt Thorton.
Another 10-inning outing saw Washington come out on top Sunday afternoon. Washington third baseman Yunel Escobar led off the 10th inning with a double and would ultimately score on a wild pitch to give the Nats a 4-3 lead which would end up being enough to avoid the three-game sweep.
Looking past the Phillies for now, the Nats venture further north for a three-game road series against the Boston Red Sox before returning home Thursday.
Once Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth was assigned to the High-A Potomac Nationals for his rehab tuneup, the stage was set for him to return to Washington’s starting lineup. As it stands now Werth will reevaluate how his surgically repaired shoulder feels Sunday and could be back for the team as early as Monday.
It’s always a treat for the farm clubs to get a talented player the likes of Werth, but Potomac fans got their cake and ate it too when Werth smashed a solo home run in his debut. In his two outings down in the minors, Werth went 1-4 with two walks. Granted, the lack of hits is nothing out of the ordinary considering Werth only started taking swings down in Viera, Florida in early March.
So, what has Washington been missing in Werth’s absence? To state the obvious, they are missing a key cog in the outfield. More so than the missing starting outfielder, the Nationals are missing a leader in the club house.
Werth is the elder statesman on a roster dominated by young talent. Of the oldest players on the 40-man roster, he is the second oldest non-pitcher; trailing only fellow outfielder Reed Johnson in age. Even though Werth may not be the oldest in years, he is the leader in seasons played for non-pitchers on the roster with 13 campaigns under his belt.
Once Werth returns to the starting rotation, Washington will have a leader back on the team. Hopefully this will help them shake off this rocky 2-4 start.