This season the Nats have matched up well with high priced teams like the Braves, Padres and Mets. However, the scrappy Marlins have given them all sorts of issues. They have lost four straight games against the fish, and these games follow familiar patterns. The Marlins are able to quiet the Nats bats, and then the Nats eventually lose a battle of the bullpens.
The Marlins are following the Rays and Guardians model of being a high contact team that is very annoying to play against. They pepper you with bloop singles, and then get that one big homer to put the game away. At this point, Nats fans would rather play the Braves for all 162 games than deal with the Marlins gritty brand of baseball.
It just seems like the Fish are a uniquely bad matchup for this Nats team. They are the only pitching staff to figure out this Nats lineup for an extended period of time. I am not really sure what it is though. The Marlins have a good pitching staff, but it is not elite. They do throw fewer fastballs than just about anyone, so that could be a reason for their success against the Nats.
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Another reason for the Marlins success just comes down to some luck in my opinion. It feels like every time the Nats do put pressure on the Marlins, the wrong guy is up with runners in scoring position. Jorbit Vivas or Jose Tena always seem to come up in big spots against the Marlins. Those guys have not been clutch against anyone, but especially not against the Marlins. The Nats were 0/5 with a runner on third in the 7th and 8th innings.
These losses are just a lot more frustrating than when the Nats fall to a team like the Dodgers or the Braves. I truly think that the Nats are a more talented team than the Marlins, but it consistently feels like they get out-executed in these matchups. Last night was a little bit different though. The Nats were the ones relying on small ball and the Marlins mistakes, while the Fish were blasting homers.
However, when the Marlins had runners in scoring position, they usually executed, while the Nats did not. I hate to say it, but Blake Butera has also gotten outmanaged badly in this series. Butera’s decisions to go to Cole Henry and Mitchell Parker in one run games allowed the Marlins to open up the floodgates. I also did not love his decision to pinch hit Jose Tena for Jacob Young, and then put Tena in the outfield.
Butera just had an off night in my opinion. Between the Tena decision, sticking with Mikolas for as long as he did, and then turning to Parker, Butera’s decisions turned out to be costly. He is a rookie manager, so you cannot reasonably expect him to be perfect, but it was not great last night.
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I think Butera has done an excellent job this season. He has control of the clubhouse, some of his unorthodox lineup decisions have paid off and he hired a great staff. However, the bullpen management this series has been shaky at best.
The Nats still have a chance to salvage a game in this series this afternoon. Staying above .500 and avoiding a June swoon is very important for this team. That makes today a big game. Andrew Alvarez will be starting, and hopefully we see a heavy dose of Brad Lord. This has been a deflating series, but today is a chance for some damage control.
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