The Washington Nationals fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 11-6, giving the Fightin Phils the sequence win. It was a recreation that adopted a well-known sample to Opening Day. The Nationals took an early lead on a Keibert Ruiz homer earlier than the bullpen squandered it.
Jake Irvin took the mound for the Nats and he gave the workforce 5 high quality innings. It wasn’t the breathtaking show of dominance we noticed on Opening Day from MacKenzie Gore, however he obtained the job performed. Moreover a fourth inning homer to Bryson Stott, Irvin did a great job getting himself out of jams.
In the meantime, the Nats had been principally struggling to make contact towards Jesus Luzardo. The newly acquired Phillies southpaw struck out 11 over 5 innings. A essential wrongdoer was Dylan Crews who was saddled with a platinum sombrero, going 0-5 with 5 Ok’s.
Nonetheless, between the whiffs, the Nats really obtained going within the second inning. After Amed Rosario obtained his first hit as a Nat, Keibert Ruiz went deep for the second time in as many video games. This time he went yard from the suitable aspect of the plate.
I ponder if Keibert is the following previously maligned Nats place participant to have a post-hype breakout. Final 12 months it was Luis Garcia Jr., this 12 months it may very well be Keibert.
The positives ended when the bullpen entered the sport. As was the case on Opening Day, the mixture of Colin Poche and Lucas Sims completely killed the Nats. Poche is now 0-2 and we’re solely two video games into the season. Sims allowed a homer, walked in a run and gave up a run on a wild pitch. It was little league stuff on the market. MASN’s Mark Zuckerman put out a tweet concerning the bullpen, and it was ugly.
Nationals bullpen to date this season:6 IP, 11 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 11 BB, 9 Ok, 5 HR
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) March 29, 2025
The final time the bullpen regarded this dangerous early in a season was 2019, and hey that labored out effectively. I do suppose it’s truthful to have a big degree of concern concerning the state of the bullpen.
After Poche and Sims made the sport 7-2, Orlando Ribalta got here in and obtained roughed up himself, permitting 4 runs in two innings. I might have liked to see Brad Lord get a shot to pitch right now and full his journey from House Depot to the MLB, however Davey went with Eduardo Salazar who was strong.
The Nationals bats obtained going within the late innings with the sport out of hand. Newcomers Amed Rosario and Nathaniel Lowe each hit their first homers as Nats. The Nats really had a good 12 hits on the day, with Lowe, Wooden, Abrams, Ruiz, and Rosario all having multi-hit days. So it was good to see the offense present some life.
Nonetheless, the story of Opening Weekend has been the bullpen. It’s one thing the Nationals want to determine. This bullpen has an opportunity to torpedo the season. It’s only two video games, however they merely haven’t gotten folks out. Its value noting that Jorge Lopez, the most effective reliever the Nats picked up within the offseason has not pitched but and Derek Legislation is out, however we’re seeing a delicate underbelly within the Nats bullpen. I actually hope the blokes can discover a strategy to stabilize and develop into even a mean unit.
There have been some positives to remove from the primary couple video games, particularly Keibert Ruiz and MacKenzie Gore’s performances. Nonetheless, this bullpen is actually leaving a bitter style within the mouth of Nationals followers.
