What Stood Out During Nationals Series Win Over First-Place Guardians
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On May 24, the Washington Nationals held on to beat the Atlanta Braves in the finale of their three-game set that resulted in a series victory. It was clear what that meant for the Nationals, as there was emotion displayed on the field when the final out was recorded.
Because of that, it was fair to question whether this young group would be able to get up for a road contest against the first-place Cleveland Guardians on May 25. After all, that type of letdown spot has resulted in poor performances from Washington teams in the past.
However, it's clear this isn't the same type of group. Not only did the Nationals win the opener on Monday, but they also took two out of three games against the Guardians. And two things stood out in a major way during this matchup.
Pitching Staff Continues to Get Better
May has been a good month for Washington's pitching staff. While their season-long numbers still have them as one of the worst units in baseball, they have turned things around in May and have started to become a complement to this dominant offense.
A lot of that starts with the rotation. And in Game 1, after PJ Poulin opened ahead of Zack Littell, the veteran right-hander came in and threw seven innings of one-hit ball that was his longest outing of the year. Then, in Game 2, Cade Cavalli had his third consecutive quality start when he allowed just one earned run across six innings pitched. While the combination of Poulin opening and Miles Mikolas coming in behind him didn't necessarily work in the finale, the staff still only allowed three runs on the day.
Despite Cleveland being a middling offensive team, holding them to just eight runs across these three games was impressive. And it is the latest example that this pitching staff has started to figure some things out.
Power Surge on Offense
What took place Game 1 was head-turning. Not only did Washington blast six home runs as a team during that contest, but it was notable who hit those longballs, as the usual suspects of James Wood and CJ Abrams both went yard, Curtis Mead launched two over the fence and Jacob Young and Luis Garcia Jr. hit their own home runs, as well.
It was an impressive start to this matchup, and the power didn't stop in the first game. The slug was on display throughout the series, as they finished these three games with seven total home runs and five doubles for a total of 12 extra-base hits.
Continuing to get production from the entire lineup is something that has allowed the Nationals to be one of the best offensive teams in baseball. But if they continue to hit for power like the way they did during this series against the Guardians, then they are going to be a scary team for the entire season.
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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