Yovanny Cruz gave the Nationals something they haven’t gotten enough of this season: a bullpen night that actually looked clean.
Washington’s relievers covered four scoreless innings, gave up just one hit and, just as importantly, didn’t issue a single walk. But the arm that stood out most was Cruz, who came out first and delivered 1.2 sharp innings in what looked like his best work since arriving in D.C.
The raw stuff was always there. That part hasn’t changed.
What did change last night was the way Cruz used it. He looked more composed, more willing to attack, and he showed off a sinker that could end up changing the shape of his whole mix.
That matters because Cruz’s first stretch with the Nationals was defined by a fastball that never really played up to its velocity. In eight outings, he had trouble getting ahead of hitters and establishing the pitch. Yes, the four-seam sat at 100 MPH, but the shape and command weren’t good enough to make it carry.
August turned into a low point. In a blown save against the Mets, Cruz threw 13 straight sliders to finish the game, a sign that he had lost faith in the heater.
Not long after, he was sent to Triple-A Rochester to work through the issues. So far, that move looks like it helped.
The biggest difference now is that he’s throwing fastballs in the plural. Before the demotion, Cruz really had just one: the 4-seamer.
Now the sinker has entered the picture, and it looks like a natural fit for the way he throws. It still comes in triple digits, but it has far more run, especially against right-handed hitters.
He leaned on it heavily last night, even more than the four-seamer, and it paid off. One of the better examples came against Alec Bohm, who rolled over a weak groundout.
The sinker may not replace the four-seamer overnight, but it feels like the pitch that could become Cruz’s primary fastball as he gets more comfortable. It pairs well with his slider, which has long been the pitch he trusted most.
That slider averages 91 MPH, has nasty downward movement, and gets plenty of whiffs when he locates it. It’s a legitimate weapon on its own.
What Cruz needed was a fastball that could set it up.
That was the assignment in Rochester: find confidence in the heater and sharpen the command. Last night, there was a noticeable step forward on both fronts.
Cruz wasn’t spraying non-competitive misses. He was challenging hitters in the zone and making them put the ball in play.
He didn’t record a strikeout, but that almost feels beside the point here. He was on the attack, and the Phillies didn’t do anything meaningful with the contact they made. The results were ground balls and harmless fly outs, the kind of outs a pitcher can live with.
The most encouraging part was the absence of walks. Cruz walked six batters in five innings during his August run with Washington, so seeing him stay in control and look relaxed on the mound stood out.
There’s still plenty to prove, and Cruz remains a wild card. But the early signs since his return from Rochester are real. He looks more confident, more settled, and better equipped to handle big-league hitters.
If that keeps up, the Nationals may have something useful here for the rest of this season and beyond. Cruz has the kind of arm that can matter in a bullpen. Now he’s showing the first signs that the rest of the package might be coming with it.
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