Nationals' Nathaniel Lowe Logs Longest Plate Appearance in Four Years
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The Washington Nationals have had a pretty difficult 2025 campaign all-around, and one of the biggest issues has been that their hitting has been rather streaky.
At times this season the Nationals have been able to completely outperform their opponent when it comes to producing at the plate. At other times, Washington hitters have become easy outs and let pitchers run through the order with little resistance.
One of the Natiionals' biggest issues has been plate discipline, as they are drawing an exceptionally low number of walks, despite being one of the best teams in terms of strikeouts.
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Nationals hitters have the seventh-lowest number of strikeouts in the MLB, but the counterpoint to that is that they are also fourth to last in walks.
Drawing more pitches from the opposing starter and getting them out of a game early can change the outcome of a game. Seeing this more often from Washington will be critical to the development of the franchse's young core.
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The lack of discipline is something one tends to see with rookies and developing players. As they continue to see more pitches at the MLB level, they should improve.
Veteran infielder Nathaniel Lowe is a perfect example, as he just had one of the longest plate appearances in recent memory.
Nathaniel Lowe's Long Plate Appearance Ranked
Jacob Lopez and Nathaniel Lowe took part in a SEVENTEEN-pitch at-bat! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KjPEEfIxAv
— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2025
Against the Athletics on Thursday, Nathaniel Lowe had a 17-pitch plate appearance against starter Jacob Lopez, who had already gone seven innings with a shutout. After this at-bat, he was pulled from the game.
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While it was already too little too late for the Nationals to make a run at the lead in a 6-0 loss, it showed some discipline that is needed in this lineup.
MLB.com reporter Sarah Langs put together some great information regarding where this plate appearance ranked in terms of pitches faced.
It was the most pitches thrown in a plate appearance since the 2021 American League Division Series, the most in the regular season since September of 2020 and the most taken by a Nationals or Expos hitter since at-bat pitch counts started being tracked in 1988.
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These types of appearances also get the team riled up, as everyone, including many fans, gets excited over the prospect of seeing the result of such a long at-bat.
While it ultimately resulted in a strikeout, it is a start in the right direction for what the team should be looking to do at the plate.
For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.
Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.