Nationals’ pitching deficiencies crop up once again in loss to Rockies

DENVER — CJ Abrams just shook his head.

Not in disbelief, more like astonishment. The Nationals’ All-Star shortstop didn’t have to watch the flight of the ball because the sound off his bat was all the confirmation he needed.

Abrams got all of Michael Lorenzen’s changeup at the bottom of the zone for a two-run homer that tied the game in the third inning. It was his 24th homer of the season and second of the game.

The 25-year-old has shrugged off concerns about a second-half slump in convincing fashion with four homers over his last three games. Even with the added caveat that he’s recorded them at two hitter-friendly ballparks, it’s still noticeable that Abrams is continuing where he left off in the first half.

“It was just fun,” Abrams said of the celebration. “It’s like, ‘There it goes again.’”

But Tuesday’s 8-7 loss exemplifies the Nationals’ biggest issue this season. As potent as the offense has been, the pitching hasn’t been up to snuff. In a back-and-forth game, All-Star Hunter Goodman put the Rockies back out in front in the eighth after hitting a low slider off right-hander Clayton Beeter to the left field seats.

Goodman made a good swing on a pitch that would have been ball four.

“That was exactly where I was trying to throw that pitch,” Beeter said.

The Nationals dropped to 51-51 after the loss and sit 1.5 games back of a wild-card spot. A day after a 7-3 win started them on the path to being buyers at the trade deadline, the pitching staff’s woes knocked them right back.

Abrams and All-Star James Wood combined to go 4-for-8 with six RBIs. But left-handed opener Carson Palmquist and right-hander Miles Mikolas, who entered with two outs in the bottom of the second, allowed a lot of hard-hit balls in the air.

After Abrams tied the game in the third inning, the Rockies scored a run in the bottom half to take a 5-4 lead. The Nationals kept the pressure on in the fourth. They got traffic on the bases after Keibert Ruiz’s walk and Nasim Nuñez’s one-out single. Jacob Young struck out swinging to bring Wood up to the plate.

On an 0-2 count, Wood drove Lorenzen’s fastball to left field for a two-run double that put the Nationals in front 6-5.

The Rockies answered right back. An RBI single in the fifth by TJ Rumfield tied the game, and Mickey Moniak hammered a fly ball to right-center field for a go-ahead homer off Mikolas in the sixth.

Washington’s offense countered in the seventh, showing the resilience has become a hallmark of this club. With runners on first and third and one out, pinch hitter Jorbit Vivas fought off multiple offerings and hit the ninth pitch of the at-bat toward the gap in left field to bring in Wood on a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Goodman’s blast in the next inning proved to be the difference. Nationals batters couldn’t mount another rally in the ninth, going down 1-2-3.

Tuesday’s loss wasn’t all on the pitching staff. The Nationals’ baserunning wasn’t sharp — Nuñez ran into an extra out attempting to nab second base while Daylen Lile was tagged out trying to get back to third after he broke for home on a bouncer — nor was their play in the field.

But there’s no reason for the Nationals to lose a game when the offense supplies them enough runs. If the players really want to show the front office they should be making additions in the coming weeks, coughing up winnable games will only hurt their case.

“We know that we’re in it, and that we can hopefully get a [wild-card spot],” Abrams said. “But like I said, just take it day by day and get as many wins as we can.”

The missed opportunities add up, and the Nationals have experienced their fare share of losses that could’ve been wins.

“These losses aren’t aren’t fun by any means,” manager Blake Butera said. “No matter what what our record is, where we’re at in the season, [this] was a game we felt like we could have won.”

“We know these guys all know where we’re at in the year with the trade deadline looming,” he continued. “They know they have a chance in front of them to make a run at this thing, or if we slip back, it could mean something differently. But these guys want to win, and they’re frustrated right now. You can feel it how badly they want to win the dugout.”