Mistakes loom large in Nats' tight loss to Cubs (updated)

There unquestionably is more young talent on the Nationals roster right now than there has been in years, and that alone is reason for more optimism than this franchise has offered in years.

Talent alone, of course, doesn’t win ballgames. Execution is required, especially in the moments that matter the most. And for some talented young players, that second part takes time to develop. If it ever does.

Today’s 5-3 loss to the Cubs was a game that was there for the taking. Alas, it slipped away from the home team because of a bad ending to a great start by DJ Herz, two more outs made on the bases at a time when the Nats needed baserunners, a particularly bad error by a rookie catcher and another inspiring but ultimately unsuccessful ninth-inning rally.

Put it all together, and you get a second straight narrow loss to Chicago, even if there have been several positive developments the last 24 hours by key young players.

"These things are worked on. It's just, the game speeds up," manager Davey Martinez said. "To me, we did make some mistakes today. But the big thing is, yesterday, one inning we gave it up. Today, one inning we gave it up. They’re going to have to learn how to get through these innings and limit the damage. That’s the big thing. The other things will clean up with time. ... Right now, we’re just making small mistakes. And as they play a little more, and play more and play more, they’ll start learning those mistakes become big mistakes in games like this."

For all their troubles, the Nationals gave themselves a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth, just as they did Friday night. Dylan Crews, who struck out to end the series opener, came up with two on and one out today but proceeded to strike out on a sweeper from Cubs closer Porter Hodge. James Wood then got caught looking at a sweeper himself to end the game, the rookie's fourth strikeout of the afternoon, three of them looking.

"There's some pitches I feel good about to take," Wood said. "I think there were too many pitches tonight that were very good pitches to hit that I didn't fire on. You just learn from it. And when I get a good pitch tomorrow, I'll learn from it."

"You look at some the pitches that got called strikes, he couldn't do nothing about it," Martinez said. "But when you've got a chance to win a ballgame like that, I'd rather see him swing the bat than take a strike like that."

Herz was the focus of this game coming in, the rookie left-hander getting the ball for a big start against his former organization.

Selected by the Cubs in the eighth round of the 2019 draft out of his Fayetteville, N.C., high school, Herz worked his way up through Chicago’s farm system, posting big strikeout numbers but victimized by high walk totals. The Nationals, though, saw the raw potential there and felt they could turn him into something if he could cut down on the walks, so they made him the centerpiece of last summer’s trade for third baseman Jeimer Candelario.

Nobody’s complaining here about how that deal worked out. Herz debuted June 4, and while he’s been erratic, there has been more good than bad. And his best starts have been as good as anyone else’s on the staff.

This start had been circled on Herz’s calendar for a while – "I'm just going to put everything on the line and be a beast and do everything I can to make the Cubs know that they messed up a little bit," he said during spring training – and Martinez was a bit worried how the rookie’s emotions would be when he took the mound today. "Oh, he's going to be a little wild," the manager said pregame, then quickly clarifying: "I mean, not pitch-wise."

Herz’s command was just fine in the top of the first. And the emotion he showed only came after he retired the side on 11 pitches, striking out Ian Happ on a rare 97 mph fastball and hopping off the mound and clapping his hands after he got Seiya Suzuki to ground out.

"He's like the complete opposite of that when he's off the mound," catcher Drew Millas said. "So it's the funniest thing ever to see him hop out there. ... He's real quiet and reserved in the clubhouse. Even when he talks, it's real quiet. But when he gets on the mound, he turns into a dog. It's fun to watch."

There was a one-out walk, followed by a balk, in the top of the second, but that was the only batter Herz let reach base through his first four innings. He was animated, but in a good way, and he was efficient, with a pitch count of only 59, poised to go deeper into the game.

"We knew we'd be feeling a little more pumped, but the main goal was to just pound the zone," Herz said. "I felt good."

And then it all fell apart in the fifth. It began with the Cubs’ first hit, a single by Isaac Paredes past a diving José Tena at third base. It continued with an eight-pitch walk, then another single that loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly brought home the first run, then another single and error on center fielder Jacob Young (who booted the ball) allowed another run to come home. And when Herz could only get the out on first (instead of the plate) on a tough comebacker, his day came to an abrupt halt. He would be charged with another run, his fourth, moments later when Jacob Barnes surrendered a two-out double to Dansby Swanson.

"I think there were times when I got 0-2 or 1-2 and I was trying to maybe (get them to) chase, instead of just staying in the zone and not nibbling," the lefty said. "I think that came back to get me, especially in that last inning."

As much concern as there was about the first inning entering the game, truth be told that hasn’t been a big problem for Herz. His ERA in innings one through three is 2.82. In innings four through six, it’s now 6.31.

Herz departed in line for the loss, but the Nationals tried to make up that deficit and at least get him off the hook. They got three hits in the bottom of the second off Cubs starter Javier Assad, including Joey Gallo’s two-out RBI single, to get on the board. They got Andrés Chaparro’s second homer this week, a leadoff blast in the fourth. And they got a leadoff double in the fifth from Young, who eventually scored on a wild pitch.

But at a time when they needed to be smart while trying to get the tying run home, the Nats instead turned overly aggressive and once again paid the price for it. During a particularly frustrating sequence in the sixth, they saw back-to-back batters get thrown out at second base: Tena trying to stretch a single into a double, CJ Abrams trying to steal after singling.

"People talk about our baserunning. That's how we play," Martinez said of a team that leads the majors in both stolen bases and in times caught stealing. "Nobody talks about the days we steal six bases. It seems like everybody talks about when we don't make it. I know it's been 50-50 here lately, but we're going to play aggressive. That's the way we play. Sometimes, we're going to win that battle. Sometimes, we're going to lose that battle."

The poor fundamental play wasn’t limited to the bases. The Nationals also hurt themselves in the field, from Young’s error in center to an especially egregious mistake by Millas behind the plate.

With a runner on second in the top of the seventh, Christian Bethancourt hit a little dribbler that traveled about one foot. Millas astutely picked up the ball and tagged Bethancourt, then looked toward second, where he had Nico Hoerner caught in no-man’s land. But before he could get Hoerner into a rundown, Millas threw the ball into center field, and thus did the Cubs score a runner from second on a ground ball that traveled one foot.

"It's a weird play. You don't really get it to where you're picking up the ball at the plate and running at a guy halfway between second and third," Millas said. "Looking back on it, I think running even farther and making him commit more to a base would've been the better decision. And then, just setting my feet and throwing. I saw him kind of jab back, and I wanted to get rid of it to get it to Luis (García Jr.), and I just didn't give him anything to handle. It was terrible."