CLEVELAND — About 3½ hours before the Washington Nationals fell, 7-1, to the Guardians on Friday night, their clubhouse at Progressive Field was practically a ghost town. On one side was Patrick Corbin, Washington’s starter who used a foam roller on the ground. On the other side was Jesse Winker, who lounged at his locker. Jake Irvin arrived and conversed with Winker for a bit before disappearing.
This wasn’t the typical game day feel. But a rare game the night before a series begins in another city resulted in the Nationals arriving at their hotel around 5 a.m. Friday. So Washington Manager Dave Martinez pushed back his players’ arrival to the ballpark so they would have as much time as they could to rest and recover.
Most of the team rolled in quietly 20 minutes later. At one point, one player asked another at the locker next to him: “What time did you get up today?” before the two exchanged a few laughs.
The Nationals, who didn’t hit on the field before the game, struggled to get much going in their loss to Cleveland. They managed only three base runners through the first six innings. Luis García Jr. had three of Washington’s four hits, and the team went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position. The Guardians scored five runs in the seventh and eighth to put the game out of reach.
“It’s definitely difficult,” García said through an interpreter about the late night. “But we always go out there to battle, and I’m not going to take away credit from their starter. He did a great job, and he made some great pitches. … It just wasn’t our day today.”
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee struck out seven and walked one in 6⅓ innings, while the Nationals’ staff combined to issue six free passes.
“It was just one of those days,” Martinez said. “We’ve been playing well, so let’s just come back tomorrow and go 1-0.”
The circumstances presented to Washington weren’t ideal, especially facing a team that has the third-best record in the majors behind only the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees.
The Guardians and Nationals mirror each other in a few ways. Both boast pitching staffs that have carried them during the early portion of the season. Washington’s starting pitchers have performed slightly better, but Cleveland has the best bullpen ERA in baseball. The Nationals and Guardians are both aggressive on the base paths — Washington leads the majors in stolen bases, while Cleveland ranks sixth.
But it was the Guardians who used heads-up base running to grab an early lead against Corbin. He started the third inning by issuing a walk to Brayan Rocchio, the No. 9 hitter, before Steven Kwan singled.
Tyler Freeman then hit a groundball that bounced off Nick Senzel’s glove and toward CJ Abrams, who dived awkwardly to try to stop it at the edge of the outfield grass. Rocchio sprinted around third base, and even though Abrams recovered to throw home, Rocchio slid in just ahead of Keibert Ruiz’s tag to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead. Abrams had to be attended to by trainers but remained in the game. José Ramírez added an RBI groundout later in the frame.
The Guardians continued to test the Nationals in the later innings. Jacob Young threw out Kwan at home in the fifth inning to preserve the score. Corbin was able to complete six innings, avoiding damage against a team that swung early in the count. And perhaps more importantly, he gave Washington’s offense a chance to wake up.
That didn’t come until the seventh inning, when García singled against Bibee and Eddie Rosario doubled two batters latter to cut the lead in half and end Bibee’s night. But Nick Senzel flied out and Joey Gallo struck out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the frame, Josh Naylor drove in a run off Robert Garcia on a fielder’s choice that could have been an inning-ending double play. David Fry followed with a two-out, three-run homer to send the Cleveland fans into a frenzy on what proved to be a quiet night for the Nationals both on and off the field.
“I still think getaway days should be at 1,” Corbin said jokingly. “It’s tough, but it happens to everybody. You got to try to find ways to battle through it. Hopefully guys can get some rest tonight and come back tomorrow. That’s really all you can do. We have a couple more games here, so we can still win a series.”
Notes: Left-handed reliever Jose A. Ferrer will throw a bullpen session Saturday, his first since he suffered a teres major strain in his left shoulder during spring training. Ferrer, 24, pitched to a 5.03 ERA in 39 appearances in his first major league season in 2023. …
Martinez is hopeful that Josiah Gray can head on a rehab assignment with one of the team’s affiliates after one more live bullpen session at around 50 pitches. Gray threw his second one at Truist Park on Thursday, and Martinez said Gray felt good Friday. …
Chris Prieto, the Nationals’ minor league outfield and base running coordinator, will be the team’s first base coach for the weekend. First base coach Gerardo Parra had a family commitment. Prieto joined Washington in the offseason after spending the past two seasons as the Tampa Bay Rays’ first base coach.
