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PHILADELPHIA – The Washington Nationals reached mid-race in their regular season Saturday night, a sample size that typically offers a reliable glimpse of a team's strengths and weaknesses. The assessment of these nationals is however a continuous exercise. For 81 games, they hovered between a losing playoff club and the team, many of whom were planning to win the National League East.
This frightening unpredictable resurfaced during the 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. After dropping 17 points on Friday night, the Nationals (42-39) failed to take advantage of the opportunities that arose against a pen that had been forced to take seven innings due to an injury to departure of the Phillies. The performance crowned an unforgettable month hampered by offensive failures. The national championships finished 9-16 in June, their worst record since a calendar month since they were 8-19 in June 2010. This team finished in last place with 93 losses. This iteration is in third place in the National League East, five games behind the Atlanta Braves.
[Box score: Phillies 3, Nationals 2]
"I really think we can play a lot better in the second half, and go ahead," said Trea Turner. . "I think winning games like tonight would be huge."
With Washington barely over .500, the last two games showed the two versions of a team that were treading the water. Friday night, the Nationals beat seven homeruns and were eliminated for 17 races. Less than 24 hours later, they did not take advantage of the opportunities that arose against a pen that had been forced to take seven innings due to an injury from the Phillies. Washington went 1 for 7 with the riders in the scoring position and left seven riders on base.
For the second straight game, the Phillies starter came out early. On Friday night, Nick Pivetta was just inefficient and could not get out of the second run. On Saturday, Vince Velasquez left after Adam Eaton's line ricocheted off his right arm in the second run. The return caused Velasquez's premature exit, but not before he got up, dropped his glove and shot a laser at the first left-handed base. Velasquez is right-handed. It was a remarkable and fast demonstration of ambidexterity to end the inning.
Velasquez fell to the ground once he had thrown it. He was writhing in pain on the grass of the infield and was finally escorted off the field by training the staff. He did not return. The Phillies (44-37) later announced having suffered a right forearm contusion.
[Phillies’ Vince Velasquez with play of the year candidate after being hit by Adam Eaton line drive]
The sequence gave the Nationals another chance to beat a Phillies pad that struggled to score 7⅓ innings the same night. But they did not do it. Five Phillies relievers joined forces to limit Washington to one point on four hits in seven innings, which was enough to hold Philadelphia's top spot against Jeremy Hellickson
"I thought we were going to score more than two points after the performance of yesterday. "said National Director Martinez." We had our chances later in the game, but when you enter a pen, you expect to score more points. "
Six days after giving up 11 points in 4⅔ innings at the start of rehabilitation with Class A Potomac, Hellickson returned Saturday for his first major league appearance since June 3. The results of his rehab appearance were ugly, but his stretched right tendon was not a problem.He was healthy, and that was all that mattered for the Nationals.They needed him to eat some big league heats. [19659010] Before landing on the injured list, Hellickson had a good run, posting a 2.28 ERA in nine starts. He rarely had the opportunity to pass a third time in a row, but the formula was effective. The Nationals were getting some hints of quality, albeit shorter, from their fifth starter and had a 6-2 record in games that he had started before he was hurt.
But Hellickson has returned to a different landscape. Washington's starting rotation was not the best in the Netherlands, as was the case when Hellickson found himself lame. Stephen Strasburg is on the disabled list. Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark fought. Only Max Scherzer has been consistent over the last month.
Hellickson came back on Saturday to more responsibilities, but he was not far away with the longer leash. The right-hander was unable to make three trips through the Philadelphia lineup, failing to come out of the fifth inning. He threw 98 shots (57 for the strikes), gave Odubel Herrera a solo breakaway in the third set and awarded two points on three consecutive doubles twice in the fourth.
"Hellickson says." I always try to find the point of release. The Fastball drive was not too good. Command in general was not where I needed to be, but I felt good.
He was shot with two riders on base in the fifth inning, a difficult situation that Justin Miller solved by extinguishing the threat. With the Nationals trailing 3-1, Miller followed suit with a scoreless run. Ryan Madson and Kelvin Herrera each followed with their aimless mounts. The efforts allowed the Nationals to reduce their deficit. They appeared on their way when Anthony Rendon broke his fifth homer in nine games, a 471-foot blast on the second bridge in the left field off Tommy Hunter in the sixth inning.
[Sammy Solis ends up the Nationals’ most logical option to be sent down]
But the Nationals did not collect anything else. They had a favored opportunity in the eighth inning, when Turner and Bryce Harper reached to start the frame. But Rendon lined up, Juan Soto jumped on the pitch and Matt Reynolds failed to lose the opportunity. They threatened again in the ninth inning after Daniel Murphy, whose wobbly knee left him available only for an emergency, cashed a 1-2 with Washington until his last outing. Eaton, however, flew to end the game.
So after 17 points and 18 hits Friday, the Nationals scored two points and eight shots on Saturday. The hearty injuries and maddening underperformance could be to blame for the inconsistency. It's a concoction that locals believe will dispel this summer. Track records and schedules suggest that the odds are in their favor. They have 81 games to understand it.
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