A Really Bad Series Out West for the Nats

I think that might be a kind way of putting it. If you are out scored 21-4 over three games that pretty bad. Throw in another 5 errors over the series too. Certainly the game Friday night should have been won. This from the Post:

As the throw from left fielder Zach Walters flew into the infield, Washington Nationals closer Rafael Soriano positioned himself between the mound and home plate. Clinging to a 3-2 lead with two outs in the ninth inning on Saturday and a runner at second base, Soriano hung a slider to Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson, who smacked it into left field.

Walters, in his first major league start in the outfield, fielded the single on one hop and fired a throw home. As Jed Lowrie steamed toward the plate, Soriano inexplicably cut off Walters’s throw, which was on line and quite possibly on time — and instead looked Donaldson back to first. No one will ever know if Walter’s throw could have cut down the game-tying run because Soriano never allowed the ball to get there.

I think Soriano is a good player. He had a career best of 25 scoreless innnings going with 19 straight saves. Those are amazing numbers. However, I also think Soriano allows way too many runners on base. It’s something that I noticed last year. Most of the time he was successful in getting the outs and the save. But again way too manmy base runners. Thus leading to what happened on Friday.

In the Post and the comments on stories there is the theme of the Nats have all these injuries. Once Harper, Zimmerman and LaRoche come back things will start working again. Here’s the small problem with that what if they get back and it doesn’t make a difference or other players get hurt. Not trying to be negative but realistic in what might happen. I’m reminded of last year and the refrain wait until _____ fill in month and then the Nats will really be hot. They did get hot but just ran out of games.

I think it will make a difference when the big guns get back. But in the mean time everyone else needs to step up. Four runs over three games is pathetic. Yes Oakland is on fire. So maybe taking two out of three games isn’t realistic. But you take one game from Oakland and then head to Arizona. Arizona has only won three games at home. Here’s a possibility of taking all three. So your six game road trip could have turned out with a 4-2 record. Now the best the Nats can hope for is 3-3.

This are not make or break games (right now) but, at some point if the Nats are going to anywhere this season like the playoffs, they have to start winning these types of games.