Treinen adopting "why wait?" mentality with first eighth-inning hold

The Nationals bullpen was completely remade from 2015. Of all the segments of the team, many believe the bullpen is the one link that needed the most change and the most improvement if the Nationals were to put together a team that could dethrone the Mets atop the National League East.

The closer is set with Jonathan Papelbon. But who will take over the eighth-inning set-up duties? Will new manager Dusty Baker select a set-up man by committee? Felipe Rivero or Shawn Kelley or Blake Treinen or others?

Treinen took care of the eighth inning Sunday in the Nationals' 4-2 win over the Marlins. He notched his first hold of the season by throwing a scoreless inning, not allowing a hit and striking out one.

Adeiney Hechavarria grounded out to short. Chris Johnson struck out swinging. Dee Gordon, the top hitter in the NL last season, grounded out to short to end the inning.

Treinen was good in spring training, too. Will that translate into a nice start in April?

"It's early. There's been success so far," Treinen said. "But yeah, it is nice to see what I've worked on has translated from spring into the season, even though it's only outing No. 2. I'm just going to continue to try to execute each pitch and trust that my stuff is going to play."

Treinen also believes Baker showing trust in him to get those outs in the eighth is a big deal. Does that mean he is the eighth-inning guy for now?

"We've got so many quality arms in the bullpen, he could trust anybody," Treinen said. "But that does mean a lot that he picked me to go out there. The first two guys were righties, that definitely helps the case. I'm just going to continue to try to show that I can get lefties out, too.

"Ultimately whatever decision they choose to make is fantastic. We've got Felipe throws like 100 (mph), and Shawn is proven in what he does. The guy knows how to get dudes out, he's got a fantastic slider. Really, you could choose from anybody out there and they're going to get the job done. I feel very honored and privileged that I got the opportunity today. I'm just going to continue and try to be consistent."

But to be the set-up guy, there is an attitude that needs to be a part of the package. Baker has said he wants Treinen to bring out the "dog" in the way he pitches, like a junkyard dog mentality.

"Yeah, we've had conversations," Treinen smiled.

What does he think of that?

"It's a new term for me. It's good, though. I like it," Treinen said. "You do have to pitch with some edge and some aggressiveness. And I think there's some truth to it. I think it's a matter of being consistent with it every time out. There's times when I've pitched really aggressively, and there's times when I've just relaxed myself.

"I need to find that happy medium and pitch the way I'm most effective. And I think this year, between Dusty and (pitching coach) Mike Maddux and my teammates, we've been able to find the good. I mean, it's so early, but I feel like I'm in a good place. I'm just going to try to continue to keep my head down, focus on what I need to and try to get outs."

One reporter asked Treinen if listening to metal music helps motivate him for each outing.

"No, everyone has their own mantras, their own things to try to get them in the zone," Treinen said. "For me, my teammates fire me up. I'm out there competing for them. Obviously, I want to have success. But I want success for my team. Team-first mentality is going to help us."

It is no secret that Treinen has the best stuff in the bullpen. But can he put that all together each time he goes out to the mound?

One key for Treinen if he is going to take over the set-up role is he must be able to control lefties as much as possible.

"I've kept the ball down, which always helps," Treinen said. "With a lefty, if the ball's elevated, it doesn't matter if it moves or not. A two-seamer runs right in their bat path. The more that it's up, the more side-to-side it is. The more it's down, the more vertical angle I get on it. If they're hitting it on the ground, I know I'm doing something right. And at the same time, I've been able to pitch in. But these last few times I've faced lefties, it's been early contact. So I haven't had to go deep, which I'm fine with. The earlier, the better. As long as I'm getting good results, I'm happy. I'm not going to try to overthink the situation, I'm just going to try to focus on each pitch and each hitter.

"Like Maddux has told me: Why wait? That's our kind of funny little saying in the bullpen. Why wait? Go at 'em. It's boded well so far."

Why wait?

Sounds like a saying that will be on a T-shirt soon if this unit gets going, similar to "Beast Mode" a few years back when slugger Michael Morse was rolling with the Nationals.

Treinen is not going to wait for stuff to happen. If Sunday's first hold is any indication, he is going to make it happen himself, dictating to the hitter.