The word kept coming up inside a mostly silent Washington Nationals clubhouse following Saturday’s 9-6, 11-inning loss to the Florida Marlins, a soul crusher of a ballgame for a team that could ill afford another one of these.
Deflating.
Deflating for closer Joel Hanrahan, who blew his second save opportunity in 17 hours and faces the toughest challenge of his young career to bounce back.
Deflating for a Nationals lineup that jumped all over Marlins right-hander Josh Johnson for six runs in two innings and then went to sleep after that, amassing all of one single during the ensuing nine innings.
Deflating for Elijah Dukes, whom manager Manny Acta benched after he arrived late to the ballpark in the morning and could only wonder what difference he might have made had he been in the lineup.
Deflating for Roger Bernadina, who replaced Dukes in center field and made a spectacular catch against the wall, only to break his right ankle on the way down and learn he’ll be out for a prolonged stretch.
And deflating for a Washington club that can’t figure out how to beat the Marlins - or most other teams, for that matter - no matter how well they seem to play.
“This is very disappointing and discouraging. It’s deflating,” Acta said. “There’s nothing worse in the game than to be winning for eight innings, do everything right, and then lose it in the ninth. That really just sucks the energy out of everybody.”
The Nationals’ ninth loss in 10 games this season and 21st in their past 24 games against Florida boiled down to one ill-fated pitch from Hanrahan to Jeremy Hermida in the ninth inning.
To that point, Washington had done just about everything to put itself in position to win. The lineup jumped all over Johnson for six runs in two innings, highlighted by Austin Kearns’ grand slam. Scott Olsen turned in the rotation’s third straight quality start, allowing two earned runs in seven innings. And setup man Joe Beimel bridged the gap from starter to closer with a scoreless eighth, preserving a three-run lead.
Given a chance to close for the first time in his career late last season, Hanrahan converted nine of 12 save opportunities. But his first two chances this season have proved disastrous. Late Friday night, he blew a 2-1 lead by hanging a slider to Cody Ross and watching it sail over the left-field fence. On Saturday afternoon, he blew a 6-3 lead on two singles, a wild pitch and a laser of a game-tying homer by Hermida, who lashed a 1-1 fastball over the right-center field fence.
“Olsen didn’t deserve that. These guys didn’t deserve that,” Hanrahan said. “They battled, they got six runs off a guy who had a [zero]-point-something ERA. We get six runs and a three-run lead, and I come in there and blow it. It was pretty disappointing.”
It took two more innings for the Marlins to finish Washington off, with the game ultimately ending in an unsightly 11th that saw Julian Tavarez issue a walk and a wild pitch, Alberto Gonzalez commit the Nationals’ third error and Wil Ledezma serve up a three-run homer to Hermida.
But the onus (and the spotlight) afterward was on Hanrahan. Several teammates offered words of encouragement, and both Acta and acting general manager Mike Rizzo said they will stick with the 27-year-old.
“I told him, ’Hey, don’t even worry about it. We’re going to need you if we’re going to win,’ ” Olsen said. “He knows that. We can’t do it without him. The best of the best blow saves. It’s only two; it just happens to be back-to-back.”
Not that the Nationals have any other viable options in a bullpen that has a 5.97 ERA through 10 games.
“He did close some games for us last year,” Acta said. “We like his potential. He’s the guy - not by default.”
Rizzo, while admitting there’s “a concern in the bullpen,” stood by Hanrahan and the rest of his roster. But as the day ended with another Washington loss, the pressure to right this sinking ship before it’s too late loomed large.
“Yeah, it’s deflating,” Rizzo said. “But hey, we’ve got to play tomorrow, right? They’re not going to cancel the game, are they? So we’ve got to get it, we’ve got to have the lead in the ninth inning again, and I’ll take my chances again.”
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