Errors fuel early deficit as Nationals lose to Blue Jays
Jake Irvin’s outing started with a groundball off the bat of Toronto’s George Springer. It was the type of routine play that lets a pitcher settle in, one that third baseman Nick Senzel has made without difficulty many, many times. But an opening at-bat that seemed ordinary began the Washington Nationals’ unraveling during a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays on a soggy Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park.
Senzel threw across the diamond on a hop, and the ball bounced off the glove of rookie Trey Lipscomb, who was making his second major league start at first base. The error was assessed to Senzel, the first of two he committed on the day.
“I didn’t make two good throws — that’s the bottom line,” Senzel said. “Obviously [Lipscomb] hasn’t played first too much, but I’ve played third for a long time. Got to make better throws no matter who’s there. Those are on me.”
Advertisement
Irvin walked Daulton Varsho before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a grounder to second baseman Luis García Jr., who tried to turn a double play by himself. He stepped on the bag but threw high to Lipscomb, letting Guerrero reach safely. Justin Turner singled in the next at-bat to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later — with the bases loaded after Bo Bichette’s single — Daniel Vogelbach hit a potential double play ball to Lipscomb, who threw the ball past shortstop CJ Abrams and into left field. The home crowd groaned, and two Blue Jays scored. Another run came around when Danny Jansen doubled. Toronto led 4-0, and Irvin needed 35 pitches to get out of the inning.
“Bad. First inning was not good,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “We couldn’t throw the ball to first base. It’s just one of those days. The weather was not good, but we should’ve made those plays. Jake threw the ball really well.”
Advertisement
The Nationals (16-17) couldn’t produce anything against Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman, who got six of his eight strikeouts with his splitter. He got 12 whiffs on 25 swings at the pitch. Eddie Rosario, who entered the day 0 for his past 27, had one of the Nationals’ three hits against him in 5⅓ innings.
They rallied against Toronto’s bullpen, scoring twice in the seventh on Abrams’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly — which came close to a game-tying grand slam — and Senzel’s RBI single. But the Nationals couldn’t get any closer before Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer off Derek Law in the eighth to give Toronto (16-18) some breathing room.
Martinez can sound like a broken record when he describes his philosophy for winning: strong pitching, aggressive base running, sound defense. Offense, he believes, ebbs and flows. His formula is working this season: The Nationals entered Saturday with the major leagues’ second-most stolen bases (54), they were tied for the second-fewest errors (10), and four of their five starters had ERAs under 4.00 even though their team ERA (4.20) ranked 21st.
Advertisement
Saturday’s defense was uncharacteristically sloppy. And on an afternoon when the Nationals had another chance to move over .500, they fell short again.
“It just didn’t go our way today,” Lipscomb said. “It’s baseball. It happens.”
Washington’s defensive arrangement wasn’t typical, but injuries have forced Martinez to move players around. Lane Thomas sprained his medial collateral ligament in April, so Martinez moved first baseman Joey Gallo to right field. Then Gallo went on the injured list with a sprain in his left shoulder; he was the designated hitter for low Class A Fredericksburg on a rehab assignment Saturday night. Joey Meneses had played the previous nine games at first base, but Martinez has expressed a desire to let him DH to keep him fresh at the plate.
Martinez has praised Lipscomb’s ability to play all four infield positions, but he has little experience at first base. He spent just 15 games there in the minor leagues and didn’t play there much during spring training.
Advertisement
Irvin allowed three hits in that dreadful first inning. He allowed two more in the second but got a timely double play to avoid further damage. From there, he retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced, with the only one reaching on Senzel’s second throwing error. Irvin finished at 107 pitches. García, who chipped in an RBI single in the ninth, misplayed a grounder in the top half of that inning for the Nationals’ fourth and final error of the afternoon.
“It sucks making two errors and kind of not playing good defense behind Irvin because he threw the ball well,” Senzel said. “It’s not a good feeling.”
Notes: Opening Day starter Josiah Gray threw his first bullpen session since being sidelined with a strained right flexor muscle near his forearm that has kept him out for nearly a month. Martinez said Gray felt good; the next step will be throwing Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how well he recovers. ...
Outfielder Jacob Young left Friday’s 9-3 win with back spasms and got a day off Saturday. Martinez said Young was available to pinch-hit and pinch-run.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeBcHyUaGdtZ56Wwaq7zZqjrGWSocKmecmasKxllae%2FsL7SaA%3D%3D