With the Washington Nationals winning 16 of 21 games in May and eight consecutive series, and claiming first place in the National League East, perhaps the team was due to hit a slump.
That slump came this past week as Washington lost four of six games from May 25 through May 31. The Nationals defeated the Chicago Cubs in a three-game road series, but was swept by the Reds in a three-gamer in Cincinnati. Washington still leads the NL East with a 28-21 record as of May 31.
Washington Nationals’ Denard Span, middle, is tagged out during a rundown between third base and home by Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Travis Wood (37) during the ninth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Washington won 3-0. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
May 26-28: Nats Take Series in Chicago
The Nationals’ only trip to Chicago this season treated fans to a matchup of two high-profile young prospects in Bryce Harper and Chicago rookie sensation Kris Bryant.
The young stars, who grew up together in Las Vegas, have been the talk of the game this season, and they didn’t disappoint in Game One on May 26, their first meeting as professional athletes. Harper had only one hit in three at-bats, a double, but he came up with a spectacular catch to pull back what would have been a Cubs home run in a close 2-1 win for Washington. Bryant had more success at the plate than Harper, recording two hits, including his sixth home run of the season. Bryant’s solo homer was the only blemish for Nationals starter Tanner Roark, a former starter who was assigned to bullpen duties after the team acquired ace pitcher Max Scherzer this offseason. But with starter Doug Fister injured, Roark was reinserted into the starting rotation and pitched five solid innings. Four relief pitchers helped out for Washington, including closer Drew Storen, who picked up his 15th save of the season. Denard Span and Wilson Ramos both hit home runs.
While the Nationals have been playing great as of late, Game Two on May 27 showed this team still isn’t where it needs to be mentally at times. Despite two clutch home runs by Span and Harper in the seventh and eighth innings, Washington allowed two rookie Cubs players to steal the show in the eighth and ninth innings in a 3-2 Chicago win. A mammoth home run by Bryant tied the score in the eighth, and fellow rookie Addison Russell laced a walk-off RBI double in the ninth inning. Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann allowed just six hits and one run through seven innings.
The rubber match of Game Three on May 28 pitted the two biggest free agency pitching prizes of the offseason against each other: Scherzer and Cubs ace Jon Lester. Neither disappointed, but Scherzer shined a tad brighter, striking out a season-high 13 batters while allowing just five hits to out-duel Lester in a 3-0 shutout victory for Washington. Harper also continued his torrid MVP-level play with his league-leading 18th home run.
May 29-31: Nationals Swept in Cincinnati
Washington learned just before Game One in Cincinnati on May 29 that they would be without injured outfielder Jayson Werth for at least two months. When the game got underway, starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg suffered a stiff neck after just 16 pitches. Taking over for Strasburg, Taylor Jordan pitched into the sixth inning, when he finally surrendered three decisive runs in what would be a 5-2 Cincinnati win.
Game Two on May 30 saw more of the same for the Nationals as the Reds exploited a shaky Nationals bullpen, along with a poor performance by starter Gio Gonzalez for an 8-5 victory. Gonzalez gave up four earned runs and Casey Janssen gave up four more in the ninth inning.
The Nationals bullpen delivered a poor outing again in Game Three on May 31, this time giving up six runs in the seventh inning as the Reds won the game, 8-2. The loss marked the first series in the last nine that the Nationals did not win.
Next: the Nationals will host the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game series on June 1 through June 3, followed by a four-game home series against the Chicago Cubs on June 4 through 7.