Treinen's bounceback fueled by confidence of entire bullpen

It has been an amazing turnaround for the Nationals.

After losing 13 of their first 20 games, the Nationals have rebounded, winning 16 of the next 20. The bullpen has been a major part of the run with a healthy mix of veterans and younger guys, some getting their first shot at high-leverage situations and delivering.

Right-hander Blake Treinen struggled earlier in the season, especially against lefties. He had allowed eight earned runs in his first 11 appearances this season, watching his ERA reach 6.00. The Nationals eased him back into those crucial moments instead of throwing him into the fire. He regained his confidence in lopsided games. Last night, the Nationals put him into a 6-5 game where he needed to hold the lead, and he delivered two solid innings in an 8-6 win over the Yankees.

Treinen's fastball command has been better recently. And now his slider is starting to get the movement necessary to confuse hitters. He has allowed only one earned run in his last five outings.

"It's just being able to put the pitch where I want to, simplifying, not trying to make the best pitch, but make the pitch that's called and just execute location on it," Treinen said. "The last couple of outings for me have been good evidence that it's working."

His clubhouse neighbor, reliever Aaron Barrett, arrived in the eighth inning and notched an important out to keep the Yankees right where they were. He has watched his teammate get back this command and excel again after some early struggles.

"I mean, you can just tell his last two outings, he's looked comfortable," Barrett said of Treinen. "He's kind of trusting his stuff and pounding the strike zone. As a reliever, you're going to have ups and downs in the season, you know you just try to ride the good ones and kind of weather the bad ones. Just go out there and continue to trust your stuff. He's doing a great job and he's going to be a crucial part of the 'pen for sure."

Tuesday was a bullpen display of the younger arms in Treinen, Barrett and Matt Grace blending well with veterans Matt Thornton and closer Drew Storen to subdue the Yankees after they scored six straight runs to take the lead in the fifth. With the bullpen's help, the Nationals rebounded with a 6-0 run to finish the game and grab the victory.

It was a night where Tanner Roark was resting, yet the bullpen still came through when stretched to its limit.

"We have unbelievable arms," Treinen said. "We may be young with a few veteran guys out there, but everybody out there has unbelievable stuff and I feel like we match up well against anybody. Some of us, including myself, have had struggles ... mainly myself against lefties early in the year and that's been the issue on a couple games. But we all put in work to get better every day and we encourage each other. We have made strides as a team and we're playing really good baseball right now."

And just like any good reliever, you can't let one bad game ruin your next five. Treinen has learned what works and tries to repeat that delivery over and over.

"We have short-term memories," Treinen said. "What works for us, we hold on to. If it doesn't work, then we scrap it and we just move on to the next day, next pitch, one at a time. We just try to execute as best as we can at any given moment, and I think we've done a really good job of that."

Veteran first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who hit the walk-off homer in the 10th, appreciates what this relief corps has been able to accomplish in only 40 games of the season.

"I mean, obviously, the guys that have been around, but I think the young guys are finally starting to get some experience," Zimmerman noted. "It's not easy to come up here and come out of the 'pen and do what Blake and Gracey and Barrett (have done). The more innings they get, the more experience they're going to get and the better they are going to get. It's not a matter of them not having the stuff, it's just a matter of learning how to pitch at this level. They are kind of maturing right in front of us, I think."