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They waited it out all morning and early afternoon, the game tied since the end of the second inning, just looking for some kind of break to take the lead for good.
And when that break came in the form of another misplay in center field by Oneil Cruz, the Nationals took full advantage and then rode a makeshift bullpen to a 4-3 victory over the Pirates.
Daylen Lile provided the long-awaited club hit with a one-out double to left-center in the bottom of the eighth. And when Cruz (who already let one hit scoot under his glove earlier this weekend) did it again, James Wood (who started the rally with a walk) was able to race all the way home from first with the go-ahead run.
"At first, I was just thinking double. I thought it was going to be second and third," said Lile, who finished 2-for-2 with two walks, the rookie raising his OPS to .796. "And as soon as I saw it get past Cruz, I just kicked it into second gear, get to third base, and I saw James score."
Clayton Beeter, pressed into surprise closer service, then finished it off in the top of the ninth, overcoming a two-out walk and subsequent single to earn the first save of his career, capping an impressive game for the Nationals bullpen.
"Hopefully a lot more to come," said Beeter, who was acquired from the Yankees at the trade deadline for infielder Amed Rosario. "You've got to get the first one to get a bunch of them. I'm glad that it happened here. It's cool that it happened so soon. It just shows that everyone here believes in me. That plays a big part in being able to be successful at this level."
When Cade Cavalli surrendered three runs in the top of the first, the Nationals’ pitching staff could’ve feared it was in for a long day. But the right-hander rebounded nicely to shut down the Pirates over his next four innings before handing it over to the bullpen.
And despite the loss of setup man (and occasional closer) Cole Henry to a back strain earlier in the morning, the Nats relief corps found a way to keep Pittsburgh from scoring anything more than those early three runs and keep the game very much up for grabs late.
Mason Thompson, Konnor Pilkington and Jackson Rutledge each had to deal with a runner in scoring position during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. And each navigated his way through it all unscathed.
"Amazing," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "When we need them, they're going to be there. We used different pitchers in high-leverage, and they came through. They're picking each other up, and it's been awesome."
When it came time for the ninth, it was Beeter who entered from the right field bullpen, not Jose A. Ferrer. Ferrer has taken on a heavy workload over the last month, and he did not pitch Saturday, but Cairo said the young closer needed another breather today.
"I just wanted to give a little break to him," Cairo said. "He's been pitching a lot. And like I say, I want to make sure everyone pitches in different leverage. ... He will be ready tomorrow."
Whether it was a byproduct of the early 11:35 a.m. first pitch or not, Cavalli wasn’t sharp from the start today. He couldn’t do anything about the infield single he gave up to leadoff hitter Jared Triolo, but he could have done something about the four-pitch walk he then issued to Spencer Horwitz. In spite of that, Cavalli was on the verge of escaping the top of the first unscathed until Nick Gonzales poked a sharp grounder down the first base line, bringing home two and ultimately making it all the way to third base with a triple. And when Gonzales scored moments later on a wild pitch, Cavalli and the Nationals found themselves staring at a 3-0 deficit.
As ugly as the first inning was – it included another single and a hit-by-pitch – Cavalli did flip the switch after that and didn’t allow another run (or another hit) over his next four innings. He did walk three more batters, bringing his total for the day to four, but no damage was suffered as a result and he departed after 67 pitches having allowed only the three early runs.
"You've just got to understand they weren't hitting the ball hard," he said of the three-run first. "So, you're doing things right. They were just finding some little holes in there. I've got to cut down the walks; that was a self-inflicted wound. ... But it's just a mentality of staying on the attack, trust my stuff and let the results be the results."
Thus concluded Cavalli’s eighth big league start of the season, the results of which require some interpretation. His 4.76 ERA looks concerning, but throw out one bad outing at Yankee Stadium and it falls to 3.38. He was averaging about one strikeout per inning, but he’s totaled only three over his last 10.
Perhaps the most important takeaway so far has been Cavalli’s ability to stay healthy after two long years trying to make it back from Tommy John surgery. His stuff remains as good as it was pre-injury. He’s poised to finish the year with more than 120 innings pitched.
"I'm very grateful to have this health and to be here, and to be able to go compete for these guys," he said. "I love these guys to death. There's nothing better than going out there, getting to compete and going to war with them. I'm truly just grateful to be in this spot, to have this opportunity. It was a long road, but it was well worth it."
The Nationals made sure Cavalli wouldn’t be on the hook for those three early runs, coming right back to score three of their own in the bottom of the second, thanks to production from the bottom of the lineup.
With two on and one out, Paul DeJong connected on a first-pitch slider from Pirates right-hander Mike Burrows and sent it soaring to left field. The veteran third baseman could be excused if he assumed it would clear the fence for his seventh homer of the season. Alas, it missed by a couple of feet and caromed back into play, DeJong forced to settle for a one-run double.
No problem, because the guys hitting behind him made sure to drive those other two runners in. Nasim Nuñez, getting the start at second base, lofted a sacrifice fly to left. Then Jacob Young, getting the start in center field, singled up the middle to bring home DeJong, complete the three-run rally and tie the game 3-3.
"Obviously, the first inning didn't go as we planned," Lile said. "But for us to fight back and not give any at-bats away and just keep chipping away, believing in each other, passing it on to the next guy ... for us to come back, it was awesome."
