Bullpen availability looms large in another loss to Miami (updated)

It takes a lot for the Nationals to beat the Marlins these days. Actually, no one can say for sure what it takes to beat the Marlins this season, because they’ve now had five opportunities to do it and have yet to emerge victorious.

You would think, though, most paths to success would include clutch hitting and quality relief pitching. The Nats got neither of those during today’s frustrating 5-2 loss to Miami.

A lineup that gave itself only a few chances to drive in runs did so only twice, stranding a runner in scoring position in three different innings. And Davey Martinez, whose bullpen was without the services of several arms typically used in high-leverage spots, watched as failed starter-turned-reliever Chad Kuhl made a mess of the decisive seventh inning and Rule 5 pick Thaddeus Ward surrendered two big insurance runs in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.

So it was the Nationals lost yet again to their plucky division rivals from South Beach. They are now 0-5 against them this season despite being outscored by only eight runs in total. And they’re an unfathomable 4-20 dating back to the start of the 2022 season.

"The thing is, it's almost like we've got to play perfectly," Martinez said. "And that's tough to do every night. If we don't chase, do some other things, the outcome might be a little better. We've got to keep playing hard. Get on base for the next guy. When we do that, we actually score a few runs."

This game, like every previous one this year, was there for the taking, tied 1-1 entering the seventh. That would typically be a situation in which Martinez would summon one of his better relievers. But Mason Thompson would’ve been pitching for the third straight day, and Carl Edwards Jr. had just thrown 26 pitches while taking the loss Friday night. Hunter Harvey, who would've been pitching for the third time in four days, and Kyle Finnegan were available only if the Nats were ahead or tied in the eighth inning or later.

"Thompson. Edwards," the manager said when asked who was unavailable. "And I'm not putting Finnegan or (Harvey) down in the game."

So the ball instead went to Kuhl, who despite his struggles no matter the role has become Martinez’s de facto backup plan for high-leverage spots when others aren’t available. The right-hander’s struggles continued.

Facing the bottom of the Miami lineup, Kuhl put himself in immediate trouble when he walked Jonathan Davis, then allowed a single to Nick Fortes. Garrett Hampson’s flyout to right turned the lineup over and brought the .390-hitting Luis Arraez to the plate. After a mound visit from Martinez himself, Kuhl threw two balls before the dugout finally signaled for the intentional walk that loaded the bases.

With no margin for error now, Kuhl proceeded to throw four straight balls to Jorge Soler, none of them competitive, the last of them nearly drilling Soler in the arm, to hand the Marlins the lead.

Then, for good measure, Kuhl uncorked a wild pitch to the backstop with an 0-2 count on Bryan De La Cruz, allowing another run to score as the crowd of 33,334 groaned in disbelief.

"It's just throwing strikes. It's just executing," the right-hander said. "I just haven't executed. I gave up a bloop single today and I got charged with two earned. Executing, it's been awful."

Kuhl now sports a 7.94 ERA and 1.900 WHIP in 14 appearances this season. He’s been scored upon in five of his nine relief outings.

"I think he just needs to stay in the moment," Martinez said. "Look, he's trying to get outs, and he just kinds of pulls off, and everything goes with it. It's tough. The last two days, his stuff was electric. He's just got to throw strikes."

Ward, meanwhile, got through a quick top of the eighth but crumbled when he returned for the top of the ninth, allowing two singles and two walks to negate any realistic chance of a last-ditch rally by his teammates.

Martinez’s bullpen decisions may have been slightly different had his lineup managed to take the lead. Alas, that group could not take advantage of what opportunities it had, going 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The Nats wasted Luis García’s one-out triple in the first. They saw Dominic Smith ground into an inning-ending double play in the fourth shortly after Joey Meneses drove in Jeimer Candelario with their first run. They saw CJ Abrams ground out with two on and two out in the seventh, falling to 5-for-41 this month. And they saw Candelario ground into a killer double play in the eighth, one that scored Lane Thomas from third but killed any chance of a bigger rally.

"We've got to do little things consistently," Candelario said of the team's overall lack of execution late in close games. "We've got to be on base. We've got to be able to put the ball in play when it's in the strike zone. ... We've got to control the game from the first inning to the ninth inning. The eighth and the ninth, we've got to set the tone. We've got to control the game."

It had been 11 days since Jake Irvin last pitched, the Nationals opting to give the rookie a breather and some time to work on mechanics by skipping his last turn through the rotation. The way this one began, that layoff didn’t appear to be paying any dividends.

Irvin had all kinds of trouble getting ahead of Miami’s hitters his first time through the order and needed a whopping 49 pitches just to get through the second inning, even though only one run had crossed the plate.

The young right-hander flipped the switch, though, and began to get ahead and to get quick outs after that. He completed his subsequent three innings on a mere 39 pitches, rarely letting the count get deep and controlling each at-bat instead of battling just to get through each.

"It's a lot about the mental side of it," he said of his in-game correction. "You realize that it's about competing, no matter who's in the box. You've got to compete over the plate and make pitches. I think using this time (off) to really get your mind and focus right prepared yourself to do just that."

With just one run on four hits allowed through five innings, Martinez easily could’ve let his starter re-take the mound for the sixth. But not wanting to squander a good thing, the Nationals manager opted to pull Irvin right there after 88 pitches, let him leave on a high note and entrust the rest of the game to his secondary bullpen.

"That was it," Martinez said. "He hasn't even done that much in the minor leagues. Because of the layoff, knowing him, I thought that was plenty."

The ensuing results speak for themselves.