Lord delivers in first high-leverage relief outing

PHOENIX – When he got out of a seventh-inning jam Friday night, thanks to a tricky 4-3 double play turned by Luis García Jr., Brad Lord returned to the Nationals dugout and made eye contact with his manager.

The account of who said what exactly at that point varied between the two participants.

“After he got out of the seventh, he came in and said: ‘I’m good for one more,’” Davey Martinez recalled. “And I said: ‘OK, you’ve got it.’”

Lord’s version: “He was like: ‘Stay ready, you’re still going back out.’”

Whoever instigated the decision to send Lord back to the mound for a second inning of high-leverage relief, it worked. With another zero in the bottom of the eighth, the rookie right-hander helped bridge the gap and get the ball to closer Kyle Finnegan on a night in which several of the Nats’ usual setup men (Jorge López, Cole Henry, Jose A. Ferrer) appeared to be unavailable.

“I loved the matchup,” Martinez said, adding: “And he was good.”

It’s been a weird two months for Lord. He surprisingly made the Opening Day roster, not in the starting role he always held in the minors but as a reliever. One week later, he was thrust into the rotation after Michael Soroka suffered a biceps injury.

Lord made six starts and showed promise in his old role, but when Soroka came off the injured list, the Nationals elected to move Lord back to the bullpen instead of optioning him to Triple-A Rochester and keeping him on a starter’s schedule.

The 25-year-old has made eight appearances since, and most have come in medium-to-low-leverage situations. Friday night, though, presented an opportunity for more. The Nationals led 9-6 entering the bottom of the seventh when Lord trotted in from the bullpen, and he felt the significance of this assignment compared to some of his previous ones.

“It’s still just a big adrenaline rush,” he said. “Every time I run out of the bullpen, the heart’s pounding. You’re just ready to go out there and compete. I’m still getting settled in and getting comfortable. I’m loving it.”

The Nationals believe Lord can be effective in a relief role because of his sneaky fastball, which he can dial up to the mid-to-upper 90s in shorter bursts.

“The thing with him is, it’s about pumping strikes. Getting ahead, staying ahead,” Martinez said. “It was 0-2, 0-2, he fell behind. We’ve got to get him to not be afraid of the strike zone when it gets like that, because his fastball is really, really, really good.”

With Lord, Henry and fellow former starter Jackson Rutledge all contributing in various ways, the Nationals bullpen has completely righted the ship after a disastrous start to the season. Through the team’s first 39 games, the relief corps had a collective 7.29 ERA. In 18 games since, that number is a very respectable 3.32.

“It’s a huge (source of) pride,” Lord said. “When the starter’s done, our goal is to put up zeros for the rest of the game. You go and set up the next guy behind you for success.”

That’s what Lord did Friday night, not only in the seventh inning but the eighth as well.

So, what happened when he returned to the dugout after his second inning of work? Did either pitcher or manager make a case to go back out there for the ninth?

“No, he’s done,” Martinez said with a laugh.