Casey Janssen's rut continues, Yunel Escobar's bat remains hot

Aside from the blockbuster signing of former Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, infielder Yunel Escobar and right-hander Casey Janssen were the two key pieces Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo added during the offseason. Both factored prominently in another botched play in the seventh inning last night, which enabled the Marlins to score the eventual game-winning run, leading to a 2-1 win over the Nats.

Janssen fell behind to J.T. Realmuto to start the frame and then grooved another 89 mph fastball. Realmuto whacked it down the left field line for a double and the Marlins were in business with the score tied 1-1.

Ichiro Suzuki followed with a sacrifice bunt but the ball was popped up in the air down the third base line. Escobar, who was playing up, froze for a split-second and then retreated to the bag instead of charging the ball. Janssen hurried over and, instead of throwing to first to secure an out, whirled and fired to third. Realmuto slid in safely as Escobar passively received the ball in poor position at the bag, failing to even apply a tag to Realmuto.

Miguel Rojas followed with a shallow drive to right. Bryce Harper sprinted in, making a sliding grab. But once he went to the ground, not even his cannon of a right arm had a chance to get Realmuto, who tagged and scored easily.

It's the second time in the last 10 days that Escobar has been involved in a late-inning bunt play at third that led to a costly Nats' loss. With the Nats leading 5-3 in the eighth inning on Sept. 1 in St. Louis, Drew Storen fielded a bunt, spun and threw a laser to Escobar, who seemed to short-arm his attempt. The ball caromed off Escobar's glove deep into foul territory, allowing Tommy Pham to score and advancing Brandon Moss to third as the tying run with no outs. Escobar was charged with a crucial error on the play and Janssen proceeded to surrender a three-run walk-off homer to Moss in the ninth for an 8-5 Nats loss.

Escobar was acquired in a trade that sent valued setup reliever Tyler Clippard to Oakland. Rizzo then went and signed Janssen, the former Blue Jays closer to fill Clippard's role.

Rizzo wanted Escobar to play second, a position the 32-year-old never felt comfortable at. When Anthony Rendon sprained his left MCL early in spring training, Escobar moved to third base, where he has remained all season.

Aside from his mediocre defensive play, Escobar has been a consistent force in the Nationals lineup, leading all National League third baseman with a .321 batting average. He led off the sixth with a single and eventually scored the Nats only run of the night.

Escobar has been on a tear at the plate in his last 17 games, slashing .459/.535/.541 with a 1.076 OPS. He has 10 RBIs and 14 runs over the stretch and has moved into fourth place in overall batting average in the NL, just 13 points behind Harper, the leader.

"He just grinds," manager Matt Williams told reporters last night. "He just grinds at-bats. He's hit all over the lineup for us and regardless of where he's hit, it's been really good from the leadoff spot to the six hole. He just continues to stay with his approach and get base hits. He'll drive a ball every once in a while and hit a ball in the gap, but the secret to his success is staying through the middle and getting those base hits."

Meanwhile, Janssen's season never really got on track. Rizzo signed the nine-year veteran coming off the worst stretch of his career, with Janssen compiling a 6.46 ERA in 27 appearances after the All-Star Game in 2014.

Then, Janssen missed the first 41 games this year with right shoulder inflammation. In his fourth appearance for the Nats, Janssen blew a 5-4 lead in Cincinnati in the eighth, yielding four runs on four hits and two walks to take the loss.

Janssen (1-5) has been charged with three of the Nationals' last six losses, and surrendered the go-ahead run in another. Over the horrid stretch, Janssen has given up nine runs on eight hits with two walks over 3 1/3 innings (24.30 ERA).

"We're gonna keep running those guys in there," Williams told reporters last night about his ailing bullpen. "I mean, they're pros. We look at Casey, he's a proven closer so he knows how to get himself out of tough stretch.

"It didn't work for him but he'll be ready to go again. We've got confidence in our guys."

It hasn't worked out all season as Janssen is 1-5 with a 5.14 ERA. Clippard, on the other hand, coincidentally joined the Mets and is helping them to an NL East title by going 2-1 with a 1.48 ERA since arriving in late July.