Nationals' Miles Mikolas Makes Unwanted Club History in Disastrous Second Start
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The weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers was never going to be easy for the Washington Nationals, but it was going to give them a good sense of how they stack up against the premier organization in baseball.
On Friday, in the team's home opener, it was clear they have a long ways to go when they lost 13-6. While the gap being large between the two sides isn't exactly breaking news, it was a still a sobering reminder that this rebuild is just getting started when it comes to competing for championships.
Coming into the series, one of the things I highlighted as something to keep an eye on was how the starting rotation would handle the Dodgers' lineup. And in Game 1, it was a complete disaster for Miles Mikolas, as he set a new club record for runs allowed.
11 Earned Runs Is New Nationals Record
The veteran right-hander was shelled by Los Angeles. While he actually navigated the first two innings well by going three up, three down in both frames, he gave up a three-run homer to Shohei Ohtani and a two-run homer to Mookie Betts in the third inning. A two-run blast from Andy Pages in the fourth and a two-run shot from Freddie Freeman in the fifth made it nine earned runs allowed on just home runs alone before he gave up an RBI double and was credited with an earned run after he had been pulled from the game.
It was not a good showing from Mikolas. And while this was always a possibility based on the way he's been declining the past few years, Washington had to have been envisioning more from him when they signed him this offseason.
During this outing, batters swung at 40 of Mikolas' pitches. They made contact with 33 of them, which means he only generated seven whiffs. 12 of his pitches were classified as "hard-hit balls," so it's easy to see why the Dodgers were able to explode on offense.
Will Nationals Keep Mikolas in Their Rotation?
When the Nationals signed Mikolas, the hope was he would provide a veteran presence for this rotation while also being an innings eater for them. But after two starts where he's given up four and 11 earned runs, respectively, there could be a decision to cut the cord on this experience.
Washington has other options in Triple-A they can call upon. And while that would require them to admit they made a $2.25 million mistake just weeks into the season, president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has not been shy when it comes to making decisions he believes are in the best interest of his ballclub.
So, following just two outings with his new team, the future of Mikolas will be something to keep an eye on after a disastrous second start where he now holds an unwanted club record.
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