The Washington Nationals had dropped eight straight against Miami, and they came in as big underdogs in Vegas. None of that mattered once the game started.
Washington handled Eury Perez early, tagging him for five earned runs in just 3.0 innings and sending his ERA to 3.44. The biggest swing came off Brady House, whose three-run homer was first measured at 474 feet before being adjusted to 445.
The ball bounced and rolled out on the center-field concourse beyond the opening to the ‘Red Porch’ seats. Perez allowed only two hits, but four walks helped put six runners on base, and five of them came around to score.
The Nationals kept stacking on from there and rolled to a 9-2 win.
The real headline, though, was Jackson Kent. The left-hander entered with only three MLB starts and an 8.03 ERA.
He left after seven full innings of one-run ball, lowering that mark to 5.59. It was a career high in both innings and pitches, as he threw 106.
That outing also came with a notable change in approach. Kent had been urged to add a sinker or cutter to help offset trouble from his four-seam fastball, and in his last start he tried the sinker only seven times.
This time, it was his primary fastball, according to Statcast. He threw 36 sinkers, 23 four-seam fastballs, 24 curveballs, 16 changeups and 7 sliders.
There was also a cleaner look to his delivery. His pitches were coming out on the same tunneling except for the curveball, which still releases higher, and that was another area where he showed improvement.
The sinker change and the release-point cleanup both worked, and if his arm holds up going forward, this could be a real turning point for him. The source material notes that this should have been addressed in the minors, but the progress is still welcome.
Manager Blake Butera had already warmed up Tom Cosgrove and Clayton Beeter, though neither ended up entering the game. Max Kranick finished the final two innings, letting the rest of the bullpen rest.
The win pushed the Nationals to 64 victories, and they also got encouraging news on James Wood. Their best offensive player is expected to return within a week after being placed on the 10-day IL on August 4th.
With 25 games left, Washington wants to finish strong. These last two games are at least a solid step in that direction.
In Other News...
Nationals Prospect Bats Are Sending A Clear Message Down The System
Rochester found a way to turn a tight game at Buffalo into a 5-3 win, leaning on timely offense after falling behind early and then settling in behind a solid relief effort. The Nationals upper-level affiliates had plenty of movement across the system on the same night, with Harrisburg going to extra innings at Chesapeake, Wilmington rolling through a doubleheader against Jersey Shore and Fredericksburg trying to keep pace in a close loss to Delmarva.
The broader takeaway for Washington is hard to miss: the bats are doing a lot of the talking right now. Wilmingtons sweep, including an 8-1 opener and an 11-2 nightcap, stood out as the kind of sustained production clubs like to see from prospects, while Rochesters comeback added to the sense that offensive pressure is showing up from top to bottom. Harrisburg and Fredericksburg came up short, but even in those games the system continued to generate enough action to suggest the organization has more than one lineup worth tracking closely. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals May Have A New Rotation Question After Kents Breakout
Kents latest turn through the rotation gave the Nationals something they have been trying to sort out all year: a young arm who suddenly looked capable of carrying a game. The No. 9 prospect worked deep into the night at Nationals Park against the Marlins, limiting Miami to one run while helping Washington roll to a 9-2 win. For a club trying to piece together stability on the mound, the performance came at a time when every encouraging start matters.
The bigger question now is what comes next for a pitcher who had been searching for his footing only days earlier. Since debuting Aug. 12, Kent has already been tested in a short big league sample, and this outing suggested a different level of comfort and command. He navigated the Marlins over a heavy workload and gave the Nationals reason to wonder whether a breakout is arriving at just the right moment, with more rotation decisions still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Cade Cavalli's Early Exit Is Suddenly A Nationals Concern
Cade Cavalli was rolling through the early innings before a fourth-inning scare suddenly changed the tone of the night. The Nationals right-hander had been sharp on the mound, piling up strikeouts and giving the team the kind of outing it has been waiting to see before a ball came back at him and turned a promising start into a concern.
Cavalli was forced out with right calf discomfort after being struck in the lower right leg, and Erik Tolman finished the frame in his place. For Washington, the bigger issue now is less about the inning he left behind and more about what comes next, because a pitcher who was dealing so well can become a much larger question the moment he walks off before the game is over. [Read more 🡒]