Nationals

Nationals

The Washington Nationals lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3, Monday to fall to 14-20. Here are five observations from the game…

1. Monday was similar to so many other days this season.

The road to the loss again ran through the bullpen. Dan Jennings couldn’t hold a 3-2 lead. He recorded just an out, and was hit with two earned runs. Wander Suero allowed a run. The end. Nationals lose, 5-3.

They are six games under .500 for the first time since April 27, 2014, the year Matt Williams was eventually fired as manager. The team never dipped below .500 in Dusty Baker’s two seasons.

Beneficial for the Nationals was a Philadelphia loss in St. Louis which kept them five games out of first place in the division. That’s more of a grayish lining than a silver one.

More injuries arrived Monday. So did the emphasis on future decisions. Jennings has not pitched well since arriving. Tony Sipp and Suero continue to be subpar, as does Matt Grace. At some point, the bullpen members need to be turned over the way Mike Rizzo did when he handed Dusty Baker a bad relief ensemble in 2017 before fetching Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle in two trades.

2. Max Scherzer’s start -- again -- wasn’t a failure because of his work.

He pitched six innings despite throwing 50 pitches across the first two innings. He found a way out of a huge jam in the sixth: bases loaded, one out. Scherzer struck out Orlando Arcia, who had two hits off him earlier, then picked up a ground ball from pinch-hitter Ryan Braun. Final line: six innings, six hits, one earned run, one walk, 10 strikeouts. And a no-decision. Again.

Scherzer has pitched eight times. He is 1-4. Much more important, the Nationals have lost seven of his eight starts. That’s, of course, a terrible formula. Last season, Washington lost 11 of Scherzer’s 33 starts.

3. This is a new five observations. We swear. But there were more injuries Monday. Two more, in fact.

Yan Gomes was hit by a pitch in his left forearm. He left the game with a “left forearm contusion” after staying in to run then catching an inning. While catching, Gomes took every opportunity not to raise his left arm. Even when throwing the ball back, he just flipped it instead of leading with his glove hand. Kurt Suzuki replaced him. He was hit on the bare hand by a bouncing Scherzer pitch, but stayed in.

Left fielder Andrew Stevenson left the game because of back spasms. He reached for his lower left side after a swing in the fourth inning. Michael A. Taylor replaced him. Stevenson was in the game because Taylor injured his left wrist when diving for a fly ball Saturday in Philadelphia. So, the backup to the backup had to come out because he was more injured than the backup who would have been playing because the starter, Juan Soto, is injured. Got that?

4. The Carter Kieboom experiment could be close to running its course.

Kieboom made a key error Monday night -- his fourth in just 10 games -- which kept the second inning going, cost Scherzer seven pitches and brought reigning MVP Christian Yelich to the plate with two runners on base. Scherzer -- on his way to the Hall of Fame -- took care of the issue.

Kieboom also continued his struggles at the plate. He finished 0-for-4 (he did hit a deep fly ball in his third at-bat Monday) and is hitting .128, striking out more than 40 percent of the time.

His all-around struggles will present the Nationals with an interesting choice Tuesday. Anthony Rendon is expected to be activated from the 10-day disabled list. That move could end Kieboom’s time in the majors. If they send him back to Triple-A Fresno, Wilmer Difo can slide to shortstop and Rendon would be back at his normal spot as the every day third baseman. Jake Noll could stay on as another utility player along with Adrian Sanchez until Trea Turner returns.

At this point, any alternative to Kieboom would be an improvement. Only one player who has appeared for the Nationals this season has a lower WAR: Trevor Rosenthal.

5. Howie Kendrick homered. Adam Eaton homered. Otherwise, little offense again for the Nationals’ injury-filled lineup.

Those two combined for three hits. The team totaled five. They struck out 10 times and walked twice. Few regulars, no offense.

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