JUPITER, Fla. – It’s only three games, and it’s only spring training, so take everything with a healthy grain of salt. Now, having made that all-important caveat, here’s what you should know: The Nationals are off to a great start to the Grapefruit League season.
With convincing victories over the Astros, Mets and Marlins, the Nats are 3-0 in exhibition play, having outscored their opponents 31-16. They’re averaging more than 10 runs scored per game. And their starting pitching, while taking on a minimal workload at this early stage, has pitched quite well.
“We’re really preaching getting good pitches to hit,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We’re getting balls in the zone, and we’re making good contact, which is great. That’s what we’re talking about: We’ve got to have better swing decisions. And the last couple days, I’ve seen a lot better decision-making when the ball’s in the zone.”
As a team, the Nationals are batting .321 (second-best in the majors), with a .419 on-base percentage (best in the majors) and .924 OPS (also best in the majors). They’re the only team averaging 10 runs per game. They’re even a perfect 10-for-10 on stolen base attempts.
There’s plenty to like on an individual level, as well. Andres Chaparro is 4-for-7 with a homer and four RBIs. Jacob Young is 3-for-6 with a homer and two steals. Dylan Crews is 3-for-6 with a triple, an RBI, two walks and two steals. Robert Hassell III is 4-for-9 with two doubles, a homer, five RBIs and a steal. Josh Bell is 3-for-7 with a double, two RBIs and a walk. Nathaniel Lowe has reached base in all three of his plate appearances. Alex Call has reached base in five of his.
“They’re starting to get it,” Martinez said. “As I’ve said before, for some of the young guys, it takes a little time.”
* On the pitching front, the four starters the Nats have sent to the mound so far have all cruised through their first inning of work. Jake Irvin and Shinnosuke Ogasawara each needed only eight pitches to record three outs. Trevor Williams needed only seven. Mitchell Parker (who pitched in relief of Ogasawara) was the high man on the list with 14 pitches in his 1-2-3 first inning.
“Man, they’ve been attacking the zone,” Martinez said. “Which has been great.”
Williams became the first starter on the team to toss two innings Tuesday, and his second inning did include a hiccup: a two-run homer surrendered to Miami’s Matt Mervis. But the veteran right-hander was less concerned with that result than with the fact he threw 16 of his 23 pitches for strikes while utilizing his entire arsenal.
“I was throwing every pitch for strikes,” Williams said. “All my pitches were strikes today. The takeaway is, I’m really happy. This is exactly where we need to be after my first start.”
* On the bullpen front, the Nationals got an eye-opening inning from Evan Reifert. The Rule 5 Draft pick struck out the side in the bottom of the third on 16 pitches, utilizing a devastating slider to get his swings-and-misses.
On the down side, Colin Poche was roughed up for three runs on four hits in one inning of work, needing 35 pitches just to get three outs. Zach Brzykcy, meanwhile, allowed four of six batters faced to reach, walking two and surrendering a homer. He was pulled with two outs in the seventh and with a pitch count of 29.
* Tuesday’s game include three attempts to challenge a ball-strike call with the ABS challenge system, two by the Marlins and one by the Nationals.
Miami’s Otto Lopez didn’t like a strike call at his knees in the bottom of the third and challenged it. ABS confirmed it was a strike all along, and Lopez eventually struck out.
The Nats’ Brady House took a ball below the knees in the top of the sixth, but Marlins catcher Rob Brantly signaled for the challenge, believing it was a strike. ABS confirmed it was a ball all along.
And in the bottom of the sixth, Nationals catcher Drew Millas challenged a pitch at the top of the zone to Shane Sasaki called a ball. Once again, ABS confirmed it was a ball all along, this one 2.2 inches out of the zone.
The lesson in the end: Plate umpire James Jean had a pretty good day.