The Nationals have continued to look solid for the most part in Spring Training as they currently sit at 8-8 in Grapefruit League play. Here is a recap of their past five games.
Cardinals at Nationals, March 8th
The Nationals hosted the St. Louis Cardinals where they lost a close contest by the score of 7-6. Washington led 4-2 in the bottom of the first inning, but the Cardinals then went on to put up five unanswered runs by the top of the fourth.
The Nationals’ first four runs came courtesy of Keibert Ruiz getting walked with the bases loaded, and Nick Senzel hitting a 3-RBI double. Washington did score two more runs in the fifth and ninth innings, respectively, but came up short in the end.
Nationals at Astros, March 9th
In Part One of a Saturday doubleheader, the Nats visited the Houston Astros in what turned out to be another loss. The Astros won 9-4 in a game where they had total control scoring eight runs by the fifth inning to lead 8-1.
Riley Adams had the best performance on Washington, as he finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a two-run home run in the top of the eighth.
Marlins at Nationals, March 9th
Part Two of the doubleheader wasn’t any better as the Nationals fell to the Miami Marlins 4-1 for their fourth consecutive loss. The lone run for Washington came in the bottom of the seventh when Joey Meneses doubled to right field and drove in Nicholas Peoples.
Zach Davies got the start on the mound for the Nats, striking out five Marlins batters in 3.1 innings pitched.
Nationals at Twins, March 10th
Washington fared much better against the Minnesota Twins for a 7-3 victory, snapping a four-game losing skid. The Nats took a 4-0 lead in the top of the fourth, which would set the tone for Sunday’s contest.
Alex Call led the team with two RBIs, while Adams, Victor Robles, and James Wood finished with two hits each.
Nationals at Cardinals, March 11th
Finally, the Nats faced the Cardinals again on Monday in what turned out to be an 11-4 blowout victory for Washington, as they overcame a 4-1 deficit to score 10 unanswered runs.
In the contest, Jesse Winker and Jacob Young each went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Eddie Rosario went 1-for-3 in his Nationals debut, and Juan Yepez had four RBIs. On the mound, Patrick Corbin threw 74 pitches and six strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
