Nationals avoid bullpen disaster, hold on to extra-innings win over Orioles

A familiar dread set in for the Nationals. They were leading with two outs in the final inning and the tying run on base. In each of its previous three opportunities, Washington failed, sending the club into a mini slump.

And, when Gunnar Henderson hit a two-out single in the 10th inning against right-hander Justin Lawrence, there was that dread.

The feeling that the team was about to waste a stellar outing from Foster Griffin. The feeling that another win was slipping from its grasp.

That dread didn’t dissipate after Lawrence walked Pete Alonso to load the bases. But, in a change of fate, Lawrence induced a game-ending groundout to snap Washington’s four-game winning streak in a 4-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday. It was Lawrence’s first save with the club.

The Nationals needed this game. Competitive teams curb losing streaks before they get out of hand, and if the Nationals couldn’t win this game, it was fair to ask how long the losing streak would last. But, for one night, the players can unclench their teeth and relax. They can breathe a little easier.

The Nationals could’ve wrapped this up in regulation had their bullpen held on to a lead in the eighth. To that point, Griffin had put them in the best situation to break a four-game losing streak.

Griffin pitched brilliantly, throwing seven innings of one-run ball with a career-high-tying nine strikeouts and two walks. But, as most fans of the Nationals (42-42) know, the game becomes interesting once the starter is removed.

Manager Blake Butera handed a lead to his bullpen. It fumbled it to the Orioles (39-45) — again — in the eighth inning.

A leadoff single from catcher Chadwick Tromp in the eighth against left-hander PJ Poulin was innocuous enough, and the two quick outs that followed seemed to be a good sign. But Alonso delivered an RBI double to the left-field wall against right-hander Orlando Ribalta.

And pinch hitter Samuel Basallo tied the game with his first-pitch single into center field. That two-out, eighth-inning burst of life from the Orioles set up extra innings.

Once there, the Nationals scored when Daylen Lile drove a single through the right side of the infield against right-hander Ryan Helsley to score the automatic runner from second. But Helsley stranded runners on the corners to maintain the one-run deficit.

That run proved to be enough, however. Jeremiah Jackson was thrown out running on contact from third, and while Baltimore had the bases loaded for Basallo, he couldn’t play the hero a second time.

This wasn’t a clean game for the Orioles. Two of Washington’s runs could have been prevented with better defense, and while Griffin deserves plaudits, Baltimore can look internally as well.

The Nationals don’t have many options in the bullpen. Butera is pulling the right levers, but he doesn’t have the horses. Trading Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan is looking like a misfire. The previous regime’s inability to develop high-velocity arms is hurting the present-day Nationals.

That Griffin’s seven-inning masterpiece became a subplot of the team’s larger bullpen issues is a snapshot of the season. No matter how many runs the Nationals score or how well a starter pitches, it’s all for naught if the bullpen can’t shut the door.

The Nationals needed a pitcher to stop the bleeding, to take the mound with confidence that would filter throughout the team. Who better than Griffin, the left-hander who is making his $5.5 million contract look like a bargain with every start? But even the team’s best pitcher couldn’t stop the bullpen collapses.

The Nationals have achieved success this season through modernizing their approach and improving their process. Solving bullpen woes isn’t a fix that can come through sheer effort.

Someone has to earn the right to get the call to protect the lead. Right now, who is instilling much confidence in the bullpen? And, frankly, how much confidence does the bullpen have?

The Orioles have been through their own trials. A major part of Baltimore’s uneven play this season has come from its lackluster defense.

The first defensive lapse wasn’t an error, but when Daylen Lile lifted a deep fly ball to left-center field, left fielder Taylor Ward took a circuitous route to the ball. He started much too flatly, then angled deeper too late. The ball — which Statcast said had only a 14% hit probability — dropped for a ground-rule double in the second inning. Lile scored on Jorbit Vivas’ single.

Another mistake occurred in the sixth inning with right-hander Rico Garcia pitching. Vivas hit a grounder to Blaze Alexander at third. Alexander bobbled the ball, then threw it high and wide of first base, which allowed Vivas to reach second. Drew Millas, the soft-hitting catcher, scored Vivas with a single.

At the same time, however, another sequence saved a run. On a double from Luis García Jr. in the sixth, Millas tried to score from first. The relay from Tyler O’Neill to Jackson and then to Tromp at home caught him, maintaining a two-run deficit.

Still, had other defensive plays been made, a strong pitching performance from right-hander Brandon Young may have lasted longer.

By the third inning, Young had set his career-high whiffs tally, and he finished with 23, becoming the first Orioles pitcher to record that many in a start since Kyle Gibson in 2023. He also set a career high with eight strikeouts.

He managed much of that success through the pairing of his four-seam fastball and splitter. Young’s splitter, which he primarily used to lefties, forced 11 whiffs. At one point, with two runners in scoring position, Young threw six straight splitters to James Wood, leading to a strikeout to end the fourth.

To begin the fifth, however, García crushed a 3-0 fastball to right field to give Washington a lead.

A trickle-down of all those whiffs from Young was an elevated pitch count. He managed five innings, allowing two runs. It was a solid start, but after producing five straight starts in which he pitched six or more innings, Young has had back-to-back five-inning showings. Still, he is proving his consistency. His ERA is just 3.11.