All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-3 win over the Nationals, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Bullpen pieces it together: When Chris Mazza exited after 75 grueling pitches in the third inning, the Red Sox were staring at 20 more outs to get to the finish line. Incredibly, six relievers combined to shut the Nationals down the rest of the way. Darwinzon Hernandez, Phillips Valdez, Austin Brice, Josh Osich, Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes combined to go the rest of the way and keep Washington off the scoreboard. It was like watching a relay race, with the baton handed from one pitcher to the next. In a perfect scenario, Ron Roenicke might have provided going to a couple of relievers to give him multiple innings each, but Ryan Weber, one of the team's usual long men in the bullpen, wasn't in position to give them that sort of length Saturday night and Hernandez, who might otherwise have been asked to give the Sox two innings, looked fatigued while on the mound and was limited to two-thirds of an inning. Roenicke joked that it was like trying to stitch together a win in the postseason, but using the proper matchups, the Sox got through it.
Hernandez's velocity a mystery: Darwinzon Hernandez faced three hitters, striking out two and walking one. But what got some attention was that Hernandez was throwing his fastball 92-93 mph, a significant dropoff to a season ago when he was routinely in the upper 90s. Even in his first few appearances since returning from an IL stint because of COVID-19, he fastball has not been as electric. But Saturday's appearance was the most concerning of all, as he wasn't even up to 94-95, the way he's been in his recent outings. The Sox dugout noticed the dip too, and cut his appearance short after he recorded the final out in the third. Roenicke said the Sox checked with Hernandez to determine if he was dealing with any physical issue and the pitcher insisted he was fine. The hope is that this is just a case of arm fatigue and that Hernandez has yet to be able to build up his arm strength completely since coming off the IL. Hernandez is a hugely important asset and the Sox have to be careful here.
Verdugo armed and dangerous: In the fifth inning, the Nationals had runners at the corners with two out. Trea Turner stroked a single to left center and Alex Verdugo, positioned in straightaway left, raced off to the gap to cut the ball off. Verdugo backhanded the ball, and seemingly on a dime, came to a full stop before throwing across his body and firing a strike to the plate which reached catcher Christian Vazquez on one hop. Vazquez slapped the tag on Kurt Suzuki for the final out of the inning. It was the major league-leading seventh outfield assist of the season for Verdugo, who enjoys the challenge of baserunners attempting to run on him. Often outfielders pile up assists when baserunners believe an arm can be exploited and it's possible that, having played in the National League, some A.L. runners aren't familiar with his arm strength. In time, Verdugo may not be challenged as much. But for now, he's taking advantage and recording some big outs from the outfield.
Running on Alex Verdugo is a bad idea.
That's his league-leading 7th assist. ? pic.twitter.com/MDnuEgyg4z
— MLB (@MLB) August 30, 2020
- When Xander Bogaerts homered in the first inning with two aboard, it was just the third three-run homer of the season for the Red Sox,
- While Red Sox pitchers issued a total of seven walks, Nationals pitchers didn't walk a batter.
- J.D. Martinez snapped an 0-for-17 with a first inning double.
- The game marked the first time in Kevin Pillar's career that he had a triple and homer in the same game.