4.30.16 Nationals @ Cardinals Recap: Cards Lose 6-1

Six runs the Nationals plated

Jayson Werth, he just slayed it

This game was too tough

One run not enough

Losing sucks and I hate it

The Game

Ugh.  Recapping losses is the pits, you guys.

The Cardinals seemed doomed from the beginning of this game.  Jaime Garcia, who has arguably been our best pitcher this season, gave up four runs in the top of the first inning.  Anthony Rendon singled on a ball up the middle that Garcia tried to grab, but it went off his glove.  After a walk to Ryan Zimmerman, a Daniel Murphy single scored Rendon.  Then Jayson Werth - who has been so bad this season, I recently kicked him off my fantasy team bench - hit the ball on a freaking ROPE into the left field bleachers.  Just like that, it was 4-0.

Garcia actually didn't pitch all that badly today.  Those first inning runs were the only ones he allowed and he struck out six.  He did walk three, though, and that was not great, but he may have been getting squeezed a bit against righties:

I count two definite strikes that were called balls, and at least three that were borderline but were either called strikes for Washington, or were called strikes for us at different times.  Not all of these pitches were thrown by Jaime, but the real point here is that the umpire was not consistent and maybe even bad.  And that can cause problems for everyone.

The Cardinals threatened to have a big inning in the fifth.  Consecutive singles by Ruben Tejada and Kolten Wong made it two on with nobody out.  Personally, down 4-0, I would have lifted Jaime for a pinch-hitter.  Our bench was stacked today: Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Aledmys Diaz, and Jedd Gyorko were available.  The bullpen was relatively fresh, as well.  Mike Leake threw seven innings yesterday and only Oh and Bowman pitched.  Alas, Matheny stuck with Garcia, who bunted the runners over.  Jeremy Hazelbaker walked, and it was bases loaded with only one outs, so things still seemed promising.  Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly to score Tejada, but that was the only scoring of the inning, and, sadly, the day.

The Nats scored again off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth inning.  Broxton walked Bryce Harper, hit Zimmerman, and gave up a single to Murphy.  A sacrifice fly by Werth made it 6-1, also the final score.

Notes

1. Diaz didn't start today, which, I mean, if you think about it, why SHOULD the national league's best hitter start every day?  I understand that Matheny was stacking the lineup with left-handed hitters against Joe Ross (who has a strong split in his very short career), but that's not a reason to keep one of your best players on the bench.  Matt Carpenter still starts against LHP, right?  I digress.  Diaz reached on an error and hit a single.  His slash line is still ridic.  Keep that doggie rolling.

2. Matt Adams was 1 for 3 with a walk.  Respectable.  I don't really have much to say about this, but I mention it only because it seems like Adams is cromulent this year.  I don't know what to do with this guy.  It's not a bad problem to have, I guess.  But since the FO basically said Adams isn't going anywhere when Pham comes back, I really don't what is going to happen.  If Diaz gets the boot, I will raise hell.

3. This was the first series the Nationals have won in St. Louis since May 2007.  I don't know if it is more depressing for the Nats that they couldn't win a series here for nine years, or more depressing for us that we let that awesome streak come to an end.

4. Tomorrow is Carlos Martinez day!  Hooray!  The game starts at 1:15 CT.  How about we win this one?