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.
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.
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.
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, but he did not pitch Saturday, suggesting there was another reason he was unavailable for this one.
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.
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.
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.