With Trea Turner at the plate, Brad Lord and the Washington Nationals were one strike away from completing another emotional win over the Phillies. In what felt like an hour later, Trea Turner came to the plate again in the top of the 9th to single and make it 14-8 Phillies. I would say I have never seen anything like this, but I did just a couple weeks ago in San Francisco.
At this point, we know what the floor of this bullpen is, and it is at the Dead Sea. The bullpen can actually string together some decent performances. However, when it is not going right, this unit is legitimately unable to get outs. That 9th inning in San Francisco and the 9th inning tonight are perfect examples of that.
All the damage in those innings came without the other team even making an out. Tonight, 10 straight Phillies reached base with two outs, turning an 8-6 lead into a 14-8 deficit. The normally reliable Brad Lord crumbled so quickly that he gave up 5 runs before another reliever was even able to get ready.
It was so close to being such a statement victory at Nationals Park. The crowd was engaged and fired up in a way that I had not seen in years. They were ready to explode when Lord got two strikes on Trea Turner. Instead, they went home disappointed like they have so many times over the past 6 years.
At the end of the day, this bullpen just does not have the horses. The floor is super low in the bullpen for a reason. It is because these guys do not have swing and miss stuff. When they desperately need it, these guys cannot get that big strikeout. Blake Butera mentioned all the times Nats pitchers got into 2 strike counts and could not finish the job.
At this point, we know what the floor of this bullpen is, and it is at the Dead Sea. The bullpen can actually string together some decent performances. However, when it is not going right, this unit is legitimately unable to get outs. That 9th inning in San Francisco and the 9th inning tonight are perfect examples of that.
All the damage in those innings came without the other team even making an out. Tonight, 10 straight Phillies reached base with two outs, turning an 8-6 lead into a 14-8 deficit. The normally reliable Brad Lord crumbled so quickly that he gave up 5 runs before another reliever was even able to get ready.
It was so close to being such a statement victory at Nationals Park. The crowd was engaged and fired up in a way that I had not seen in years. They were ready to explode when Lord got two strikes on Trea Turner. Instead, they went home disappointed like they have so many times over the past 6 years.
At the end of the day, this bullpen just does not have the horses. The floor is super low in the bullpen for a reason. It is because these guys do not have swing and miss stuff. When they desperately need it, these guys cannot get that big strikeout. Blake Butera mentioned all the times Nats pitchers got into 2 strike counts and could not finish the job.
2 months ago
