Blake Butera’s return to Tampa gets spoiled in Nationals’ 5-2 loss

ST. PETERSBURG — Hours before Friday’s matchup between the Nationals and Rays, Blake Butera couldn’t go a few seconds without another person wearing Tampa Bay gear popping out of the home dugout to grab his attention.

He was greeted with hugs, handshakes, laughs and small talk, a scene built on more than a decade of friendships formed during his years with the Rays.

On Friday, Butera returned to Tropicana Park as the Nationals’ manager to face the organization that drafted him and eventually made him a member of its player development staff. The result wasn’t what he’d hoped: The Nationals fell 5-2 at Tropicana Field.

“Definitely a weird feeling walking in and coming through the different side of the park,” Butera said. “Excited to be back, excited to see a lot of familiar faces that have meant a great deal to me.”

Washington’s offense jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before falling flat in the final innings. Miles Mikolas allowed five runs, four of which came on home runs.

Butera was a 35th-round selection in the 2015 MLB draft and played two seasons in the Rays’ system before being released. He worked his way up from being the youngest manager in minor league baseball for the Hudson Valley Renegades in 2018 to running the Rays’ farm system by 2024.

Many of the players in the Rays’ dugout had been overseen by Butera in the minor leagues. During his time with the Rays, Butera said he learned about innovation and open-mindedness to new ideas.

The Rays, for example, were one of the first teams to utilize openers. On Friday, the Nationals used reliever PJ Poulin to open, though not by choice; Cade Cavalli, the Nationals’ projected Friday starter, was scratched from his start with food poisoning. He’s expected to start tomorrow instead.

When asked if he saw the irony of employing that strategy against his former team, Butera joked: “It’s hard not to do it.”

Overall, Butera said the organization gave him a blueprint for the culture he hoped to create in Washington. In many ways, the Nationals’ and Rays’ rosters mirror each other. They both have payrolls that rank in the bottom third of Major League Baseball. And yet both teams are firmly in the mix for a wild-card spot.

The Rays entered Friday holding the top American League wild-card spot. The Nationals were tied for the final spot in the National League.

Washington has gotten this far because of a top-ranked offense that has many players on pace for career seasons. CJ Abrams said the key to that success is pitch selection.

“Not missing the pitch to hit,” Abrams said. “Don’t get too many of them, so don’t miss the ones that are in the middle.”

On Friday, Abrams launched a solo homer in the second inning on a cutter down the middle. Abrams has 15 homers and 55 RBIs this season, putting him on pace to shatter his previous career highs of 20 homers and 65 RBIs.

Luis García Jr. launched his 10th homer of the year in the third inning to go ahead 2-0. He’s on pace to eclipse his career high of 18 homers, which he set in 2024.

The Nationals had four hits in the first three innings. Over the next four frames, they went 1 for 13 with an infield single.

The Rays haven’t necessarily been elite at one specific aspect of the game this season. Rather, they’ve been solid in all areas. They run the bases well, put the ball in play when necessary, and maximize matchups with their pitching staff.

Mikolas, who learned Thursday night that he’d need to pitch Friday, entered after Poulin pitched two scoreless innings.

“That’s something I take pride in,” Mikolas said. “Always being ready and being able to take the ball whenever I get it.”

He walked Hunter Feduccia, allowed a single to Yandy Díaz and then surrendered a three-run homer to Jonathan Aranda in the bottom of the third. One inning later, Richie Palacios added an RBI single.

Mikolas, 37, isn’t known for elite swing-and-miss pitches. The righty generated only three whiffs in 43 swings on Friday, low for even his standards. He allowed a solo homer to Jonny DeLuca to open the bottom of the eighth inning, which put the game out of reach.

Mikolas said he didn’t get the ball down in the zone as often as he likes and would look back at video on Saturday to discern why.

Still, Washington had its chances. In the top of that frame, Washington’s first two runners reached base, giving them a significant comeback opportunity with the top of their order due up.

Instead, James Wood flied out to center. Jacob Young was picked off at first base. And Curtis Mead, a former Rays prospect, shattered his bat and grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat. The Rays bullpen combined to pitch four scoreless frames.

“Just really good arms and different angles and different stuff,” Butera said. “They threw a bunch at us. ... When they have a lead late in the game, it’s really hard to come back from that. We had a chance there, I thought, in the eighth, just couldn’t come through.”