Andrew Alvarez delivers for pitching-needy Nationals in win over Reds

José Trevino thought about slamming his bat in frustration after his fifth-inning strikeout, but the Reds catcher showed restraint.

That one instance reflected the Reds as a whole as they largely struggled against Nationals lefty Andrew Alvarez.

Like most young players, Alvarez is inquisitive and impressionable. He observed former Nationals All-Star Foster Griffin’s preparation. He switched over his note-taking from electronic to paper that he keeps in a binder.

He upped his film intake, watching how other left-handers operate against lineups he might face and incorporating his own arsenal into designing a plan of attack. He has become more process-oriented, focusing on whether he executed the pitch in the correct location or called the right pitch in the right situation.

The subtle changes to his preparation have been evident in the results over his last two starts, the most recent being Saturday night, when he pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in an 8-2 win over Cincinnati.

“I feel like that’s just helped me build a little bit of visual and game plan a little bit better,” said Alvarez, who struck out two and walked one. “I think the statistics and the sheets are awesome, and they’ve really helped me, but it’s just another piece that I’ve added.”

A good barometer of Alvarez’s performance is the number of strikes. When he’s getting ahead of hitters and challenging them in the strike zone, it usually leads to good outcomes. He runs into trouble when he tries to get hitters to chase pitches out of the zone, ratcheting up his pitch count and often leading to walks.

After arguably his best performance of the season against the Phillies — 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts and three walks — Alvarez stacked another solid one.

“Absolutely,” he said of gaining confidence in his stuff playing in the zone. “You try to go outing to outing and gain confidence.”

In the sixth, Alvarez allowed a one-out single to Sal Stewart before manager Blake Butera replaced him with Max Kranick. Butera likely wanted a right-hander to face the Reds’ back-to-back right-handed hitters (Dane Myers and Eugenio Suárez). Kranick got Myers to pop out before allowing a game-tying two-run homer to Suárez.

But the Nationals answered in the bottom of the inning. Dylan Crews’ leadoff double followed by Daylen Lile’s RBI single gave them a 3-2 lead. With one out and the bases loaded, pinch hitter Andrés Chaparro laced a two-run double down the third-base line to extend the lead to 5-2. Jacob Young’s RBI single made it a four-run game.

The offense remains one of the best in baseball, even after the Nationals jettisoned two linchpins. In lieu of Luis García Jr., the first-base platoon of Chaparro and rookie Abimelec Ortiz combined to drive in four runs.

Though it was reasonable to question if the offense could maintain its high level of production, the Nationals have fared well since the trades.

“Obviously, they grabbed the momentum back from us when they hit that two-run homer to tie it there,” Butera said. “So to go back out there in the bottom half of the inning with [Chase] Burns still on the mound, Crewsy getting it started, I think really sparked the offense, and just incredible at-bats right after Crewsy as well to continue that inning.”

Pitching, on the other hand, has been a white whale for the franchise. Finding innings this season has been a priority, particularly from arms under club control for multiple years. The organization can pencil in Cade Cavalli and Jake Irvin for next season’s rotation. After that, it gets murky.

If Alvarez continues taking steps forward, he could take one starter off the franchise’s to-do list. He is at his best when he’s landing his changeup and fastball for strikes, which then allows his curveball to play up.

Butera noted how impressive Alvarez’s outing was, considering how right-handed Cincinnati’s lineup is. The left-hander is taking meaningful steps forward and not letting uncompetitive pitches or high pitch counts turn into short outings by trusting his stuff in the zone.

“The more belief he gets in how good his stuff is provides him some opportunities to set himself up for success and continue to roll this way,” Butera said. “A lot of it when you get up to the big leagues is being able to believe that you can pitch here and have success here.”

It’s imperative that Alvarez, 27, continue this string of performances. Given the pitching depth in the system that is nearly ready for the major leagues, this could be his best opportunity to show he can be a starter next season.

After Butera’s ejection Monday, he watched the remainder of the game from the visiting office in Philadelphia. Butera saw Alvarez, despite his outstanding start, infuriated as he entered the clubhouse, upset over hitting a batter and walking Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott on five pitches.

That brief interaction gave Butera a glimpse into Alvarez’s psyche. Despite being a soft-spoken individual, Alvarez has perfectionist tendencies. He couldn’t enjoy the outing because his inability to execute could’ve nearly made it all for naught.

Alvarez holds himself to a high standard, so when asked how he performed Saturday, he mentioned how getting ahead in counts and being aggressive aided him. But a small smile crept across his face as he detailed some of the warts of his outing.

“Walks have been a problem, so cut it down,” he said. “But we’d like to see zero. All in all, just attacking the zone, stepping on their throats and trying to not get behind, and trying to throw breaking balls in the dirt and whatnot.”

This article has been updated.