Daylen Lile belted another home run in a 2-for-3 performance, but the Washington Nationals fell flat once again in a 3-1 loss against the Colorado Rockies
The Washington Nationals fell back in familiar territory after dropping game two against the Colorado Rockies, 3-1, on Tuesday night in another lackluster showing at home.
Andrew Alvarez drew the start and tossed six strikeouts and allowed three earned runs and five hits in 4.2 innings pitched, while both relievers Max Kranick and Jake Bird allowed one hit each over the final two innings in the loss.
Daylen Lile picked back where he left off after accounting for 40% of the team's hits while driving in his second home run in as many games to cement a 2-for-3 performance.
Abimelec Ortiz knocked through the game's first hit with a single in the bottom of the first inning, marking what proved to be the lone hit between the two teams through the first three innings. That would change after Alvarez gave up a leadoff 432 foot home run in the fourth inning off a 91 mph fastball, giving the Rockies a chance to move ahead. Alvarez then gave up a walk before a fielder's choice pushed the runner to second, which proved to be costly after an RBI double pushed the Nationals into a 2-0 deficit.
Yet Lile's source of offense kept the Nationals in the game moments later after his 401 foot home run off a 91 mph fastball cut the deficit in half, but it materialized into nothing further with the source of offense all but absent since both James Wood and CJ Abrams made their way to the injured list this month.
The Rockies pushed their lead back to two in the fifth inning after Alvarez gave up hits to two of the first three batters faced before a wild sequence unfolded after a strikeout and wild pitch, along with an obstruction call against Brady House, leading to their third and final run of the night. Brad Lord would step in to replace Alvarez before the two teams combined for five hits over the final 4.1 innings.
The Nationals, now sitting back at ten games under .500 overall and 28-37 at home this season, will look to clinch at least a series split when the two teams meet again on Wednesday evening. Manager Blake Butera revealed that right handed pitcher Matt Waldron, who was claimed from the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend, is set to take the mound with the start marking his Nationals debut and first pitch set for 6:45 PM.
