3 Takeaways as Nationals Rebound Again With Emphatic Series Win Over Red Sox
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Late on June 26, there were questions if the season was coming off the rails for the Washington Nationals.
Not only did they lose 3-1 against the Baltimore Orioles, but that was their fourth loss in a row after they lost three straight games in historic fashion against the Philadelphia Phillies the series prior. But just a handful of days later, on July 1, the Nationals were able to rebound from adversity once again to win two consecutive sets against the Orioles and Boston Red Sox.
During this matchup against the Red Sox, which turned chippy on Tuesday based on a benches-clearing incident that was started by Cade Cavalli and Willson Contreras, Washington showed some major fortitude.
Here are three takeaways from that series.
James Wood Has Broken Out of His Slump
No matter how good James Wood performs in the first half of this season, the fact that he can go into a massive slump -- like what happened during the second half of last year -- will always be in the back of the mind until he silences those concerns.
For a little over a week, the slugger was slumping. From June 19-28, he went 5-for-41 with 19 strikeouts to five walks and no home runs with just three extra-base hits. But following that cold spell, Wood broke out of it in a major way against Boston.
In this series, the 23-year-old exploded at the plate. He went 6-for-13 with two homers, three extra-base hits, six RBIs and four strikeouts to two walks. With Wood performing in that fashion, the Nationals are hard to beat.
Bullpen Gave Up Just Two Earned Runs Across Three Games
Perhaps what is most frustrating about Washington's bullpen struggles is the fact that they can go through stretches where they perform in a competent manner.
That was the case during this set, as they allowed just two earned runs across all three games, with rookie Riley Cornelio giving up both of them in the finale in what was the fourth major league appearance of his career.
-Brad Lord: 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, 2 BB
-Zak Kent: 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1K, 1 BB
-Riley Cornelio: 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, 1 BB
-Orlando Ribalta: 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 K, 0 BB
-Carson Palmquist: 1 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, 0 BB
Brad Lord opened the finale with Andrew Alvarez coming in behind him to throw 4 2/3 scoreless innings. But Lord has been primarily used as a reliever this season, so he's counted as a bullpen arm in the context of this conversation.
The Nationals aren't going to have an elite bullpen at any point this year, but they do have the capability of stringing together good stretches of play. Getting to the point where they can do that more consistently is what will help this team truly push for a playoff spot.
Cade Cavalli Looks Like True Ace
When looking solely at what Cade Cavalli did on the mound on Tuesday, the 27-year-old right-hander looked like a true No. 1 for a contending team. Not only did he fan a career-high 13 batters, but he also didn't walk one and threw seven scoreless innings where he gave up just one hit.
That capped a strong month of June, where he posted an ERA of 3.82 across six starts and 30 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out 34 batters and walked just eight, as Cavalli has fully settled into his frontline starter role.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai