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MILWAUKEE – If the Nationals were going to head into the All-Star break on a positive note, they had an uphill climb to battle.
Already having struggled this weekend against Brewers pitching, facing right-hander Freddy Peralta, who was selected for the upcoming All-Star Game but will not pitch in it, may have proved to be the Nats’ toughest challenge yet.
And they were shorthanded heading into the matchup, with their two best hitters sidelined before the game even started. For the first time in 174 games since he made his major league debut, James Wood was not in the starting lineup, the struggling All-Star slugger getting some extra rest before tomorrow’s Home Run Derby.
“He's going to be in the Home Run Derby, he's going to play in the All-Star Game. And he doesn't have time off, so I just wanted to give him the day today so that he can just chill out and relax," interim manager Miguel Cairo said after the game. "He's been playing every day. He's the big player on our team. And I just wanted to give him a day.”
Then 30 minutes before first pitch, CJ Abrams was scratched from the starting lineup, with Paul DeJong taking over at shortstop and batting fourth. The Nats announced during the game (a change from the team’s policy under the previous regime) that the young shortstop was scratched with minor right shoulder soreness, which he first experienced on Saturday.
“He told me yesterday it was a little tight," Cairo said. "He wanted to play through it and he played through it, and you respect that. And today, he tried to get it going and it didn't loosen up. And I go like, 'Hey, just take the day. Just come by ready to play on Friday.'”
So it was that the Nationals lost the eighth of their last nine games, this one by a score of 8-1 to complete a sweep at the hands of the Brewers. With the loss, the Nats enter the All-Star break with a 38-58 record, which places them 20 games under .500 for the first time since finishing last season 71-91.
“It's hard," Cairo said. "When you play a good team like that and you come off 0-3, it's always hard. ... We fought until the end, but we didn't get a W. So this is a good time to reset. A lot of stuff happened in the past week. And this is going to be a good time for everyone to reset, to come back on Friday and be ready to play. We're going to be ready to play.”
To be frank, it could have been much worse. The Nationals were no-hit by Peralta through the first five innings. And without Wood and Abrams, the chances increased that the Nats would suffer their third no-hitter, one in each of the last three seasons, after never having been no-hit between 2005-2022.
Alas, Jacob Young came to the rescue with one out in the sixth. He slapped a single right past the third baseman into left field to hear a collective sigh of relief in the Nationals' dugout and a groan followed by applause from the 32,135 fans at American Family Field.
“Obviously, he has a really good fastball," Young said of Peralta. "Obviously, that's why he's had the first half of the season he's had. And then I thought, after the first time through, he kind of pitched us backwards with a lot of off-speed early, and then kind of surprise fastballs late. Gotta give him credit. He threw it well, commanded the zone well.”
Luis García Jr., who was the Nats’ only previous baserunner via a fielding error in the second inning, then doubled down the left field line in the seventh and came around to score on Daylen Lile’s single to right to avoid the shutout.
But that was the only run the Nats could score today, leaving the three unearned runs the Brewers scored off Jake Irvin enough for the home team to win.
Irvin, who was personally looking to end the first half on a positive note, did enough to feel better about himself heading into the break. For the most part, he held a tough Brewers lineup in check. It was just one inning that proved costly.
With two outs, the right-hander issued a two-out walk. Then a fielding error by Brady House at third let the next batter reach. And then when Irvin couldn’t cleanly field a soft chopper in front of the mound, the bases were suddenly loaded.
No. 9 Anthony Seigler then gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead with a two-run single to right, his first-career RBIs. Sal Frelick followed with his own RBI single to right to make it 3-0.
Aside from those costly mistakes, Irvin pitched well. He may have been able to get deeper into the game if not for his high pitch count of 93 after five innings. He was doomed by long at-bats, some of which went for as many as 10 pitches.
“Execution was solid," Irvin said. "I thought we had a good game plan going into it. I tried to keep guys off-balance all night. I thought we did a good job of that. And I'm looking forward to this time off, but I'm excited to come back hungry and ready to get after it after the break.”
With the three unearned runs, Irvin’s first-half ERA lowered to 4.58, still more than a run higher than the 3.49 ERA he posted before last year’s All-Star break.
“Definitely things that I want to improve on and things to get better at, execution being No. 1," he said. "But just coming back and being ultra competitive and trying to help this team win ballgames in the second half.”
Jackson Rutledge giving up Jackson Chourio’s three-run homer and Brice Turang’s solo shot in succession, and Andry Lara (recalled from Double-A this morning) loading the bases and walking in another run in the eighth were just more salt in the wound.
But at long last, the All-Star break is here after a disappointing and tumultuous first half. Now the Nationals can rest, watch Wood participate in Monday’s Derby, and hope the young outfielder and their budding ace MacKenzie Gore get to play in Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic in Atlanta.
"It was a hard week for everyone," Cairo said. "And just reset, come back Friday, be ready to play. Be ready to go. Be ready to play. That's what we're going to ask, and hopefully they're ready.”
“I think that having the time away for just a little bit of change is huge for us," Irvin said. "I think guys are ready to come back hungry and ready to go. But the time down is definitely going to be helpful right now.”
“I think it's a good time for a reset, if there is one," Young said. "Obviously, it was a crazy week with a lot of stuff going on. But I didn't think we played bad baseball this week. We had a good chance to win yesterday. We were in a bunch of games late here and in St. Louis. So it's a good time to reset and try to get the second half turned around.”
Speaking of looking ahead, the Nationals also owned the No. 1 overall pick in tonight’s MLB Draft. They selected high school shortstop Eli Willits out of Oklahoma with the top pick, another important piece for the future.
