Nationals suffer third straight shutout loss (updated)

The primary object of the great game of baseball is to score runs. You can’t win games without doing that. And the Nationals are being made all too aware of that here in the season’s final week.

For the third straight game, they were shut out, this time in a 3-0 loss to the Royals. They have not scored a run in their last 31 innings.

"I think they're pressing, for sure," manager Davey Martinez said. "We've just got to go out there relaxed tomorrow. Just get a good pitch to hit."

The last member of the Nationals to cross the plate? Joey Gallo, via his three-run homer in the top of the sixth Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Gallo, as a matter of fact, has driven in six of the team’s last nine runs.

Not depressing enough? How about this one: The Nats have been held to zero or one run in seven of their last nine games.

"I think the best thing is to get not too caught up in it," said Gallo, one of the few remaining veterans in this lineup. "Understand there's another game tomorrow. Take whatever adjustments you need to make as a group, and go forward with that. It happens in baseball. Sometimes, you just don't come through in moments when you can score runs."

It’s actually not the first time the team has ever been shut out in three straight games. It happened once before in the club’s two decades in D.C.: Aug. 23-25, 2018, when a lineup that featured Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper failed to score once against the Phillies and twice against the Mets late in a disappointing season.

Tonight’s loss was nearly a carbon copy of Tuesday night’s series opener, right down to the rookie left-hander making his final start of the season for the Nationals. Mitchell Parker wrapped up his year with five scoreless innings the previous night. DJ Herz wrapped up his campaign with five innings of one-run ball tonight.

Herz wasn’t quite in peak form. He struck out only three, and he issued three walks, elevating his pitch count to some extent. At one point, he decided to pitch only out the stretch because his mechanics felt off when throwing from a full windup. But he minimized the damage, the lone run scoring on his watch coming via a third inning walk and two singles.

"I felt like it was very 'grindy;' the velo wasn't there," said Herz, who fastball averaged only 92.3 mph, down from his season average of 93.6 mph. "But we found a way to get through it. We had to make pitches. We had to make outs. I think it was a very good, tough one to finish on."

As was the case throughout the season’s second half, Martinez didn’t let Herz approach the 100-pitch mark. He was pulled after 81 pitches across five innings, congratulated in the dugout for one more job well done in a season that included plenty of jobs well done.

"It says a lot for him, how much he matured over the year," Martinez said. "In the beginning, when he didn't have his good stuff, that would've been three innings and 85-90 pitches. He grinded out five innings for us at 81 pitches, which tells me a lot about him and his growth."

A touted-but-erratic prospect when the Nationals acquired him from the Cubs last summer for Jeimer Candelario, Herz earned his way to the big leagues with some key adjustments at Triple-A Rochester. He made his debut June 4 against the Mets, and two starts later he struck out 13 while allowing only one hit in six brilliant innings against the Marlins.

Herz had a few duds along the way, but he also authored a few more gems. And when it was all said and done, he was the owner of a 4.16 ERA, 1.263 WHIP and 106 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings across 19 big league starts.

"I'm proud of myself getting through this first one," he said. "It was really good. I'm just thankful to get through the season healthy and have another full season down."

Herz also was the owner of only four major league wins, a product in part of the lack of run support he and the rest of the Nationals rotation received from their teammates. And the same was true tonight.

The Nats barely put up a fight at the plate against Kansas City, which had to turn to its bullpen early after starter Michael Lorenzen didn’t make it out of the third inning in his first outing back from a hamstring strain.

It made little difference when the Royals went to their bullpen. The Nationals did nothing against left-hander Daniel Lynch IV, nor did they get to fellow lefty Angel Zerpa. By the time they completed the fifth tonight, they had seen their streak of consecutive scoreless innings rise to 27.

"We're fouling off a lot of balls we should be hitting," Martinez said. "We've got to start putting those balls in play."

"I can tell them to go ahead and try to hit home runs. Swing for the fences. That ain't going to work," Martinez said. "Just get a good pitch to hit and try to drive the ball."

The low point may have come tonight in the bottom of the seventh. With a chance to finally get something going – two on, nobody out – Jacob Young struck out looking and Nasim Nuñez struck out swinging. Dylan Crews then got himself into a 2-0 count and then got a fastball over the plate from right-hander John Schreiber. He made good contact (exit velocity: 102.2 mph) and hit the ball far (345 feet), but he hit it to the warning track in right field, where it was caught by Tommy Pham to end the inning and lower Crews’ batting average to .190, his OPS to .566.

The Nats needed something there, because the deficit grew to 3-0 when reliever Eduardo Salazar gave up three straight hits to open the sixth, the first two runners coming around to score and increase the Royals’ lead. The way the home team has been swinging the bat, that felt insurmountable.

"Obviously, guys are frustrated or disappointed when things don't go their way," Gallo said. "I thought we've still done a pretty good job of going out and playing defense and trying to win the game and give ourselves the best opportunity still. I don't think anybody's ever excited with getting out. It's just part of baseball. You just move on and try to get them tomorrow."