The Washington Nationals avoided the series sweep against the Cubs, but it marked the end of another ugly series
The Washington Nationals wrapped up their homes series against the Cubs with a big 7-0 victory… but it wasn’t pretty outside of that.
The Nats scored plenty in the series — they scored 19 combined runs — but, as has often been the case, the pitching and bullpen couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
With the series in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from the three-game set.
1) Jackson Kent promising, but imperfect
In Wednesday’s loss, 23-year-old Jackson Kent made his MLB debut.
Kent, one of the Nationals top prospects, had moments where he looked dominant. The young southpaw had the strikeout pitch going early and throughout his four innings of work, finishing with six strikeouts.
There was some ugly, too. Kent struggled with control at times, walking five and running up a weighty pitch count quickly. Due to the number of batters he put on base, Kent was saddled with three earned runs because he left two on when he was pulled.
Which brings us to the next takeaway…
2) The bullpen. Woof.
At this point in the season, the Nationals aren’t playing for all that much.
As a seller at the trade deadline, the team has largely given up on trying to contend for a playoff team or make a run. From here on out, it’s about development and draft position.
Still, though, Nationals fans must feel frustrated to have to watch near-nightly bullpen blowups.
Though the Nats turned in a clean outing Thursday, the bullpen gave up 10 combined earned runs in the first two games of the series. Wednesday was particularly ugly, as the group surrendered three home runs to Alex Bregman alone in a 12-7 loss.
But who needs the bullpen when…
3) Cade Cavalli dominant in Thursday start
Nationals ace (now undisputed, with the departure of Foster Griffin) Cade Cavalli pitched one of his best games of his career Thursday, turning in eight scoreless frames.
Cavalli had his best stuff on the mount, utterly dominating a Cubs lineup that had shelled Washington the night before. Cavalli gave up just one hit and two walks, all while striking out 10.
Again, the Nationals aren’t playing for much at this point in the year. But seeing this type of outing from a guy who will likely be their ace next year and in the future is encouraging for fans and front office alike.
