The first inning of Shinnosuke Ogasawara’s major league debut suggested a very long day ahead for the Nationals and the first Japanese free agent in club history. Five batters in, the left-hander had surrendered four runs to the Red Sox, his pitching repertoire looking very much not ready for prime time.
By day’s end, Ogasawara’s lackluster start was only part of the equation that led to the Nats’ 6-4 loss. He was pulled during the top of the third without surrendering any more runs. His bullpen did an admirable job to keep the game within reach despite the heavy workload asked of it. The home team’s lineup, on the other hand, squandered several golden opportunities to get to Boston ace Garrett Crochet, who escaped five harrowing innings with only two runs charged to his name.
And so the Nationals were swept by the Red Sox during a three-game series in which they never once led. Today’s loss wasn’t nearly as lopsided as the two that preceded it (11-2 on Independence Day, 10-3 on Saturday) but in some ways it stung more because it appeared to be there for the taking, despite a pitching matchup that looked overwhelmingly lopsided on paper.
Ogasawara’s debut start wasn’t some kind of grand event. The Nationals didn’t leak out advance notice in an attempt to drum up interest like they have with several recent top prospects. There were several Japanese media outlets in attendance to cover the game, but nowhere close to the throngs of reporters who typically follow around the country’s top stars.
For the unassuming 27-year-old, this was treated just like any other start, no matter the location, the level or even the continent. He arrived in the clubhouse less than 3 hours before first pitch and was happy to say hello and catch up with teammates he first met in West Palm Beach five months ago. When he took the field to begin his warmup routine 45 minutes before gametime, he stopped along the railing to sign autographs for several fans.
Once the game began, it had to become quickly obvious to Ogasawara this was in fact a very different situation than he had ever experienced.
Whether intentional or not, his first inning included a handful of pitches at the knees or below, but the vast majority (including breaking balls) were up in the strike zone, this in spite of the fact he topped out at 92.6 mph. That unconventional approach may have worked in Nippon Professional Baseball, but its chances of success in Major League Baseball were decidedly lower.
The Red Sox were all over everything in the top of the first. Nate Eaton hit Ogasawara’s very first pitch to right for a leadoff single, then later stole second. Romy Gonzalez did strike out on an 0-2 slider, but Roman Anthony followed with an RBI single to left. Rob Refsnyder drilled an 0-2 fastball to right-center for an RBI double. And then Trevor Story launched a high slider to left field, clearing the visitors’ bullpen.
Five batters into the finale of a series that already featured back-to-back lopsided losses, the Nationals trailed 4-0, and Ogasawara had to wonder what in the world he just got himself into.
To his credit, the left-hander would settle down after that. His second inning included three more baserunners – plus a 17-minute rain delay prompted by an out-of-nowhere downpour – but no more runs. He helped himself out by picking off Ceddanne Rafaela immediately coming out of the stoppage. And he got Anthony to ground out with runners on the corners to end the inning.
Ogasawara opened the third with two more outs and should’ve been out of the inning lickety-split if not for Amed Rosario’s error on a routine grounder to second. One more single after that by Abraham Toro and Davey Martinez decided to pull the plug. His starter departed after 55 pitches through 2 2/3 innings, though ultimately only those four quick runs in the top of the first scored off him during a debut that wound up better than it probably looked.
The Nationals bullpen did a nice job taking over for Ogasawara and put in yeoman’s work to keep the game within reach for the lineup. Cole Henry and Brad Lord combined to face the minimum over 3 1/3 innings, though Lord returned for the top of the seventh and allowed a leadoff double, that runner eventually scoring off Jose A. Ferrer. Mason Thompson also enjoyed a scoreless return to the major leagues 15 months removed from the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
The Nats lineup, meanwhile, tried its darndest to inflict some damage on Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox’s Cy Young contender who actually was rather hittable today yet still found a way to make pitches when he needed them most.
The Nationals totaled nine hits while drawing two walks and getting hit by a pitch during Crochet’s five labored innings. But they scored only two runs during that span, both of them coming in the bottom of the third via RBI hits from Paul DeJong and Brady House. They went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position during the first three innings, with Crochet recording key strikeouts of DeJong, James Wood and Riley Adams along the way to escape further damage.
The Nats would get another run in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a rare display of patience from Adams and pinch-hitter Luis García Jr. (who drew back-to-back walks, the latter of which drove in a run). But when Alex Call popped up on a 3-1 fastball over the plate, they left the bases loaded with Wood standing in the on-deck circle, still trailing 5-3. It became a 6-3 game when Andrew Chafin served up a homer to Rafaela in the top of the ninth.
Martinez finally decided to pinch-hit CJ Abrams for Call in the bottom of the ninth, after Daylen Lile's two-out RBI single cut the deficit to 6-4. Abrams would send a high fly ball to left-center for the final out of the game.