Irvin's breakthrough first half ends on sour note (updated)

MILWAUKEE – In a first half packed with encouraging, unexpected performances from the Nationals’ young pitchers, Jake Irvin stood at the top of the pack.

More than anyone else on the staff, the 27-year-old took the kind of forward strides that forced any skeptics out there to reconsider how he might just fit into the long-term plan, looking far more like a frontline starter than a back-end innings-eater.

Two bad starts to close out the half – capped by today’s slog during a 9-3 loss to the Brewers – don’t diminish everything Irvin did the previous three months. But they will leave a bit of a sour taste in the right-hander’s mouth as he heads home for the All-Star break.

"Look at the big picture, and see that it was a good first half," he said. "But just let these last two starts be a reminder that there's still work to be done. And we're going to get better and move forward with this."

One of the National League’s most consistently effective starters so far this season, worthy of an All-Star selection even though he didn’t get one, Irvin was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) in only four innings this afternoon. That came on the heels of a six-run outing last week against the Mets, these two duds turning Irvin’s 2.80 ERA into a 3.49 ERA in short order.

Did Irvin simply wear down at the end of a long first half? The entire Nationals pitching staff could probably claim the same woe, having just played 17 days in a row, during which the team went 6-11 while allowing more than five runs on average.

"I don't think any of them are tired; I was watching their velo," manager Davey Martinez said. "But I do notice (Irvin's) mechanics sometimes get a little out of whack. He starts pulling everything. So we've got to keep an eye on that."

Given the state of the bullpen, after that group was asked to throw 8 1/3 scoreless innings to win Saturday’s game and then traded Hunter Harvey to the Royals, the Nationals went into today’s game knowing they needed length from Irvin. That hasn’t been a problem for the right-hander, who had completed five innings in all but one of his 19 starts to date and completed six innings in 14 of them.

So imagine everyone’s surprise when Irvin labored from the outset this afternoon and found himself simply trying to get himself through four frames.

Back-to-back, two-out doubles from Christian Yelich and Willy Adames produced a first-inning run for the Brewers and set the tone for the day. William Contreras’ solo homer in the third added to Irvin’s woes, as did three straight two-out singles, with Lane Thomas letting a ball hit to him in right get by for a costly error that turned it into a three-run inning.

By the time he reached the fourth, Irvin was on fumes. He issued three walks, uncorked a wild pitch and served up a two-run homer to No. 9 batter Garrett Mitchell on a 2-0 curveball. He managed to complete the inning, but his pitch count got up to 86, and that’s as far as Martinez was willing to let him go, depleted bullpen or not.

"Results are what they are, but at the end of the day, the most disappointing thing is not being able to save the pen as much," Irvin said. "Especially after a day like yesterday where those guys were taxed quite a bit, it's definitely disappointing."

The seven runs off Irvin (six earned) made for a hefty deficit for the Nationals lineup to overcome. That group found a way to storm back from five runs down Saturday. It was too much to ask for a comparable showing today.

Things got off on the wrong foot when Brewers left-hander Rob Zastryzny, serving as the opener, retired all four batters he faced on a scant four pitches. Thomas, CJ Abrams and Jesse Winker all made outs on the only pitch they saw, with James Wood striking out on three pitches in his at-bat.

"That's not the approach I wanted, no," Martinez said. "We've got to get the ball up, get it over the plate. It's hard when your leadoff hitter goes and swings at the first pitch. We talk to him all the time, but when he does get a good pitch to hit, he hits it pretty good. I can't fault him for that, because that's just who he is."

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy then turned to originally scheduled starter Colin Rea, and the Nats managed to push across two runs against him thanks to RBI singles by Ildemaro Vargas (a late replacement for Luis García Jr., who was scratched with a sore left shoulder) and Juan Yepez (who has now recorded a hit in all 10 games he’s played since joining the team).

But that’s as far as they got. There was no inspired rally today. On the 17th day of a grueling stretch to close out the first half, the Nationals had to be content with a series win over a first-place opponent, a 44-53 record and the prospect of a well-deserved four-day break before everyone reconvenes Friday.

"Don't give up," catcher Keibert Ruiz said. "Bring that good energy in the second half. Keep playing hard and believe we can play with anybody."