Herz continues second-half run, Nats provide enough support to win (updated)

It has flown under the radar a bit, but DJ Herz has turned into the Nationals’ best starting pitcher over the last two months.

Since returning from a brief stint at Triple-A Rochester around the All-Star break designed to give him some extra rest, the rookie has taken the mound 10 times. And in those 10 games, he now owns a 2.76 ERA and 1.082 WHIP, all while striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings.

Including in that stretch was another gem tonight, with Herz tossing five more innings of one-run ball. And thanks to some long-awaited clutch hits from a lineup that has precious few of them the last two nights, the Nationals emerged with a 4-1 victory over the Marlins to reward Herz for his efforts.

Despite totaling only four hits, the Nats found a way to score four runs. And their bullpen didn’t squander their starter’s effort, with Eduardo Salazar, Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan combining for four scoreless innings of relief to finish off the team’s ninth win in 11 games against Miami this season.

Herz was already on a roll entering this start, having tossed five no-hit innings against the Pirates last Saturday before he was pulled with a pitch count of 87. And when he retired the first six Marlins he faced tonight, the young lefty was now on a run of seven consecutive innings without allowing a hit.

"I'm attacking guys," he said. "I'm confident with my stuff in the zone. I can feel the confidence, and getting more comfortable. I feel good."

Miami finally got to him in the third, though even then the hits came in the form of a bloop single to shallow right field and a bunt single down the third base line. And Herz responded to a bases-loaded jam by striking out Connor Norby and Jake Burger in succession to escape the jam.

There was no escaping an 0-1 changeup over the heart of the plate in the top of the fourth, not when Otto Lopez mashed it into the left field bullpen for a solo homer to end Herz’s scoreless streak at eight innings. Not that the rookie was bothered by it, because he proceeded to retire five of the next six batters he faced before handing over the ball for the night.

"I wasn't sharp today," he said. "I didn't have my best stuff. But I found ways to get out of it. Had some great plays behind me today. I thought I fought very well."

He’s hardly a finished product at this point, and he’ll have to cut down on some walks and reduce his pitch counts to have a chance to go deeper in games down the road, but it’s hard for the Nationals not to be excited about Herz right now. He wasn’t necessarily supposed to be a significant part of the 2024 big league rotation, yet here he is having started 17 games for them while producing a 3.70 ERA, the lowest mark of any of their regular five starters since he debuted in June.

"When we first saw him, he was all over the map," Martinez said. "We got him, talked to him in spring training about just controlling the strike zone. Be aggressive in the zone. You have to be in the zone. You can't pitch here when you're walking three, four, five guys a game. He took it to heart, went down (to Triple-A) and really was just trying to throw the ball over the plate. He gets up here, and he's had his moments. ... When he does that, he's really good."

Herz has been credited with only three wins, though, both because he rarely has pitched deep in games and because his teammates rarely have supplied ample run support. Tonight was no different, the Nats basically putting together a carbon copy of Thursday’s series opener with an early rally in the bottom of the first and then a whole lot of zeroes after that.

As was the case 24 hours earlier, the evening started off in promising fashion. The Nationals jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Dylan Crews’ leadoff infield single – the rookie basically beat out a routine grounder to short – and José Tena’s two-out walk, three combined stolen bases between the two and then Luis García Jr.’s routine grounder to first that turned into disaster for the Marlins.

Covering the bag, Edward Cabrera dropped Burger’s throw for a costly error, one that scored not only Crews from third but also Tena, who bolted from second base and never stopped running.

"It definitely sets a tone, for sure," Crews said of his leadoff hustle single. "I try to start of the game with momentum like that ... and play the first inning like I play the last inning."

The next five innings, though, included zero hits from the Nationals, who were flummoxed by Cabrera’s repertoire and never could get anything going against him. The Miami right-hander finished with nine strikeouts, one walk and that one early infield single over six standout innings.

But once the door to the visitors’ bullpen swung open, the Nats’ fortunes changed. García greeted left-hander Anthony Veneziano with a solo homer to right in the bottom of the seventh, his first home run off a lefty this season and only the fourth of his career.

Drew Millas would then reach on an error by shortstop Xavier Edwards and steal second, putting himself in position to score moments later on Jacob Young’s opposite field single. Just like that, a Nationals lineup that totaled one hit its previous 11 innings produced two run-scoring hits in a matter of minutes to extend the lead to 4-1.

"I've said it before: We battle," García said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "We go out there and battle, stay with the same game plan. Good outcome or bad outcome, we come out and battle every day."