The Nationals’ offense put together 11 hits tonight and drew three walks to boot, but they were only able to bring three runs across the plate tonight in a disappointing 6-3 loss to the Astros. Andrew Alvarez wasn’t at his best tonight, struggling specifically with his command. The young lefty walked five over his 5.2 innings tonight, contributing to the five runs that came in to score in that time. Nonetheless, the Nats gave themselves a chance in the bottom of the ninth against Josh Hader, loading the bases with two outs and Dylan Crews at the plate representing the winning run. That did not end well unfortunately, as Crews went chasing after a 2-2 fastball well above and out of the zone, striking out to end the game and what was a rough loss for Washington.

The Action

The ballgame got off to a great start, with Andrew Alvarez retiring the side in order to start the game, and James Wood got the party started immediately in the bottom of the inning. The Nats’ young stud has been on a tear lately, and he continued it tonight, taking the second pitch of the game from Tatsuya Imai and launching it into the stands in right-center field for his 25th home run of the season and putting a 1-0 lead on the board for the Nats.

The Astros responded with a run of their own in the top of the second, as Alvarez plunked the first batter of the inning and walked the second guy on four pitches. That set the inning up to be a disaster for Washington, but luckily, Alvarez was able to escape with only one run allowed, that run coming on a sacrifice fly by Nick Allen. That would tie the game up at one apiece.

The Nats retook the lead in the bottom half of the third inning, as CJ Abrams drove in James Wood to make it 2-1 Washington. It’s already been a monster series for Wood, as he’s reached base seven times so far in the first two games of this series, including four times via the walk. Houston’s pitching staff has been chasing their tails in circles trying to get him out this week, as Wood continues to show the world how wrong they were for not making him an all-star starter.

The top of the fourth inning brought trouble for Alvarez and the Nats, as Christian Walker began the frame with an infield single and Cam Smith drew a walk to get a rally started. Later in the inning, it was once again Nick Allen who came up with a big swing; this time it was a two-run single to put the Astros ahead 3-2. One batter later, Christian Vazquez extended that lead with a sacrifice fly to score Brice Matthews and make it 4-2 before Alvarez could end the inning.

Fast forward to the sixth inning, Blake Butera rolled the dice and left Alvarez in the game with two men on after two walks and two outs to face Christian Vazquez and try to complete six innings. It didn’t work, as Vazquez lined a ball into right field that got down for an RBI single, ending Andrew’s night and making it 5-2 Houston.

• Tatsuya Imai: 3.2 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 84 pitches
• Andrew Alvarez: 5.2 innings, 4 hits, 5 runs (5 earned), 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, 97 pitches

Both bullpens went to work in the middle innings of this game, and while both teams were able to mount a couple of rallies, all were snuffed out by effective damage control on both sides.

For the Astros, Steven Okert, Enyel de Los Santos, Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, and Josh Hader all contributed scoreless outings out of the pen tonight. And for the Nats, Justin Lawrence, Matt Krook, and Carson Palmquist all threw up zeroes in their relief appearances tonight.

The Astros got their final insurance run in the top half of the eighth inning on a solo homer by Jose Altuve. That run made it 6-2, where it stood until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Jose Tena got a pinch-hitting opportunity and made the most of it. Tena worked a seven-pitch at-bat, culminating in a solo homer to right, making it 6-3, a manageable deficit.

It seemed like a harmless run for the Nationals until James Wood got on with a single, Curtis Mead got on with a single, and CJ Abrams walked to load the bases with two outs for Dylan Crews, pinch-hitting, representing the winning run. The at-bat began on a promising note, with the count moving to 2-0, but quickly went sour as it became clear that Crews could not catch up to the Hader fastball. Crews fouled one off on 2-0 before swinging and missing at two more fastballs, the last one being well above the zone, to end the game in disappointing fashion.

Ryan’s Rant

I fully understand that this new regime and front office are devoted to playing the matchups and creating as many little advantages as possible for our hitters, but there is one big outlier. If we really want to create advantages for ourselves, Andres Chaparro would never take an at-bat from anyone, ever. Even against left-handed pitching, which he’s repeatedly been tasked with facing, he’s been horrendous. Tonight in particular, Blake Butera subbed him in to replace Luis Garcia (one of the league’s hottest hitters), and he proceeded to strike out on four pitches against a lefty. Then in the ninth, he got another at-bat against a lefty and once again struck out on four pitches. I understand Garcia may not be strong against lefties, but I have a hard time thinking he would do any worse than what Chaparro has been.

What’s Next?

The rubber match of this series will get underway tomorrow evening at 6:45 with quite the appealing pitching matchup. The Astros will send out Spencer Arrighetti (7-4, 3.81 ERA) to try and secure them the series, and the Nationals will counter with their should-be all-star, Foster Griffin (9-2, 2.87), in what may be an opportunity for him to make a final case for his all-star candidacy.

Down on the Farm

AAA Rochester

• Game tonight was postponed
• Doubleheader tomorrow: Game 1 begins at 4:05 at Worcester (starters TBD)

AA Harrisburg

• 4-3 win tonight at Erie
• Alex Clemmey: 6 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts (4.37 ERA)
• Holden Powell: 1 inning, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, (4.24 ERA, 6th save)
• Brandon Boissiere: 1-3, double, 2 RBIs, walk (.293 BA, .929 OPS)
• Leandro Pineda: 1-4, home run (3), RBI (.237 BA, .686 OPS)
• TJ White: 1-4, home run (2), RBI (.208 BA, .599 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 12:35 game at Erie (Isaac Lyon pitching)

High-A Wilmington

• 2-1 win tonight at Brooklyn
• Carson Fischer: 6 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts (3.00 ERA)
• Eli Willits: 1-3, RBI, walk (.228 BA, .896 OPS)
• Jorgelys Mota: 1-3, walk (.243 BA, .634 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 6:40 game at Brooklyn (Eriq Swan pitching)

Low-A Fredericksburg

• 11-9 loss tonight at Myrtle Beach
• Levi Huesman: 2.2 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts (4.86 ERA)
• Coy James: 1-5, home run (10), 2 RBIs (.212 BA, .718 OPS)
• Hunter Hines: 3-5, triple, RBI (.304 BA, .975 OPS)
• Juan Cruz: 2-4, home run (7), 2 RBIs, walk (.278 BA, .833 OPS)
• Manny Cabrera: 2-5, home run (3), 2 RBIs (.226 BA, .708 OPS)
• Tomorrow: 7:05 game at Myrtle Beach