Sammy Solis breaks down his matchups in 7-5 loss to Pirates

Left-hander Sammy Solis entered Friday night's game versus the Pirates in a good situation.

The Nationals had just tied the game at 5-5 on a dramatic home run by the hot-hitting Ian Desmond. After trailing 2-0 and 5-4, the Nationals had tied the game again. Max Scherzer was done, finishing five innings.

Now it was time for the bullpen to take over and hold back the Pirates.

It didn't work out that way for Solis.

After a strikeout of Pedro Alvarez, Solis allowed a single to Francisco Cervelli. Then he worked another strikeout to Pedro Florimon. He was one out away from getting out of the inning.

But Pirates pinch-hitter Brett Morel laced a double to score a run and Gregory Polanco followed with a RBI single. Suddenly, the Pirates had counterpunched for a 7-5 lead.

That would be the eventual final score.

So what happened to Solis? He had two outs on strikeouts and with a man on, he had a shot to get of the inning and end the rally.

"I felt good," Solis said to reporters after the game. "I was one pitch away from being the hero or the zero. I just left it up a little bit. Got too much plate and you saw what happened. It's not fun to be on this end."

"He had Morel, hung him a breaking ball," manager Matt Williams said on the "Nats Xtra" postgame show on MASN. "Then Polanco hit a first-pitch fastball up the middle. Other than that, he had him down in the count. Had options, he just hung the pitch."

Against Morel, Solis opted for the knuckle curve that stayed right where Morel wanted it.

"You get ahead of the guy 1-2 and obviously it was wrong location," Solis told reporters. "I don't know about (the) pitch, but I left it middle and that's what happens."

Solis started games as a minor leaguer, so is it tougher to get amped up and warmed-up enough when coming out of the bullpen?

"No," Solis told reporters. "I want the ball in close situations. I can get hot quick now. I'm getting used to it and I let the team down a little bit."

It's interesting to see that the Nationals do not check in on the Mets or worry about being in first place right now. At least Max Scherzer doesn't concern himself with the standings. All he sees is a 7-5 setback.

"It's too early in the year to be scoreboard watching or worrying about where we're at," Scherzer told reporters. "In first or games out or whatever. You just got to focus on yourself. You just go out there and try to win every ball game. We lost today. It sucks."