How the Nats are trying to get better stopping the run game

In a short 2020 season filled with frustrating loses, the Nationals' Sept. 20 doubleheader opener in Miami was especially agonizing. The seven-inning game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth when Max Scherzer loaded the bases with two outs, then thought he was out of the jam when he got Starling Marte to ground to third on his 119th pitch of the afternoon, only to watch in horror as Eric Thames dropped Carter Kieboom's low throw.

That sequence was so emblematic of the Nats' disappointing season: The ace right-hander pushing his pitch count to extreme levels and then giving up the decisive run late, his defense letting him down at a critical moment.

Less remembered, but no less important, was the moment that set the whole rally into motion several minutes earlier, one that also spoke to another major problem area for the 2020 Nationals. With two outs and nobody on, Matt Joyce singled to right. And then on Scherzer's next pitch, pinch-runner Monte Harrison stole second base. Easily.

That stolen base was the crack that ultimately allowed the dam to break. Once Harrison swiped second, leaving first base open, Scherzer and manager Davey Martinez elected to intentionally walk Miguel Rojas. Another walk of Jon Berti followed, moving the go-ahead runner to third. And then came the Marte grounder and Thames error that handed the Marlins a 2-1 victory.

It's been a real problem for the Nationals for several years, an inability to stop opponents from running on them, especially in big moments late in games. And it's now a point of emphasis this spring from their manager and new pitching coach.

"We've got to get better at that," Martinez said Sunday during his Zoom session with reporters. "We can't have a single turn into a double."

The Nationals gave up 46 stolen bases last season, second-most in the majors. Opponents' 84 percent success rate against them was the fourth-best in the sport.

And it got even worse late in games. Nats relievers allowed 16 of 17 runners to steal off them, the worst rate in baseball in 2020.

Some of the trouble can be attributed to Kurt Suzuki, whose weak arm led to a whopping 73 of 83 opposing runners to steal a base off the last two seasons. But it wasn't all on the veteran catcher. Most managers and coaches will tell you bases primarily are stolen off pitchers, and so even with Suzuki now in Anaheim and Yan Gomes and Alex Avila behind the plate, the Nationals are asking their pitching staff to be better at holding runners on.

"We talk about that a lot," Martinez said. "I talk to pitchers about that, regardless of how good they are. If they can't hold a runner and you're trying to make a pitching move, it's hard to make that move when you know the guy's going to come in and allow the guy to go to second base. So they've got to get better at it."

And it's not simply about pickoff moves or slide steps. It's about timing. More accurately, it's about adjusting your timing so the start of your delivery to the plate isn't too predictable.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of not falling into a pattern with pitchers, because a lot of baserunners - as we tell our baserunners - look for patterns," Martinez said. "Guys hold the ball for two seconds or a second every time. Sometimes it's just breaking patterns, like holding the ball a little longer. Some guys, you can't mess with their mechanics because they are who they are. But they can hold the ball longer and sometimes quick pitch. We're talking to guys and identifying guys that can do that."

The Nationals' late-inning woes might be aided in large part by their most significant addition bullpen addition of the winter. Brad Hand isn't known for having a great move to first base - he has only five pickoffs in his career, and three of those came as a rookie in 2011 - but he's allowed only two stolen bases on only three attempts over the last three years.

"Late in the game, you never want to give guys free bases," the left-hander said. "So if it's a one-run ballgame, you're trying to keep that guy on first base. Once he gets to second or third base, it's a lot easier to score runs. So just trying to give your catcher a chance. Be quick to the plate. Change your looks."

That's the philosophy being preached by Jim Hickey, the club's new pitching coach. How big a deal is Hickey making it this spring? He's having pitchers, upon completion of their Grapefruit League outings, head straight to a back field behind the stadium and work on holding actual runners on base.

"He understands the running game," said Martinez, who spent years working on the same Rays coaching staff with Hickey. "A big component of his is to stop giving guys a free base 'cause you can't hold a guy on. He's talked about it, and as these guys start coming in after games, they're going to go to the back field while they're hot to work on it."

Back field drills during spring training are great, but of course the proof will come during the season if Nationals pitchers actually are successful at slowing down the running game.

This much they know: They had better be better in 2021. Because they can't afford to be worse.