MILWAUKEE – If anyone was worried the grind of 17 games in 17 days to close out the season’s first half – not to mention 13 losses over the last 17 games – would leave the Nationals a dejected bunch this evening, Jesse Winker and Co. made sure to allay those fears right off the bat tonight.
And if anyone was worried Jackson Rutledge wouldn’t be up to the challenge of his first big league start of 2024 against the first-place Brewers, the big right-hander also made sure to allay those fears right from the get-go.
Rutledge allowed only two runs in a strong-if-abbreviated spot start, and Winker led a balanced offensive attack with an RBI double and a solo homer against his former team as the Nats topped the Brewers, 5-2, and snapped their five-game losing streak with an all-around impressive showing.
An exhausted roster arrived in Milwaukee late Thursday night following a series sweep in New York and had to muster up the energy to take on the Brewers in the final weekend of this daunting stretch before everyone can enjoy a well-deserved All-Star break.
"That's your job. That's what you sign up for, to come in and grind it out," Winker said. "It's hard. It's a hard game. It was a tough stretch of games, and we've been playing a lot of really good teams, but it's a good league. It's our job to keep coming in, put the work in and grind stuff out."