Washington Nationals news & notes: Jake Irvin does it again against Braves; Nats win, 5-1…

Notes and quotes on a strong start by Jake Irvin, who’s pwned the Braves this season…

Winless in his last four starts (8.14 ERA, a 5.99 FIP, .326/.396/.558 line against in 21 IP), Jake Irvin, 27, had struggled in the second half (a 6.12 ERA, a 5.56 FIP, and a .290/.340/.525 line against in 9 GS and 50 IP), to reproduce the results from his strong first half (3.49 ERA, a 3.87 FIP, and a .231/.283/.395 line against over 20 GS, and 116 IP).

Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez told reporters after Irvin gave up seven hits, three walks, and six earned runs in five innings against the Pirates in PNC Park, in a start in which he got up to 87 pitches, 46 of them in a long second which almost ended his start.

“Then he comes back out and he retired the next nine batters on really just throwing his fastballs, commanding his fastball and keeping the ball down,” the skipper said of Irvin’s performance in the rest of the outing.

Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Martinez was asked if the starter’s struggles overall in the second half could erase the memories of the positive first half he put together when Irvin looks back at the season.

“It shouldn’t erase what he did in the first half,” Martinez said.

“What he should be conscious of is finishing strong. That’s what he should be focused on.

“Just stay in the moment. Stay where your feet are, get outs when he’s out there and just try to finish strong.”

Finishing up in PNC with three innings in which he gave up two hits and a run and threw just 29 pitches was a positive.

“We were a little concerned about sending him back out,” Martinez said, “… but I’m glad we did.”

“I’m trying to take this day-to-day,” Irvin said after facing the Pirates, “and trying not to be discouraged by any results recently. I think that things could’ve gone one way or another the last few starts on one or two pitches. So it’s eliminating those bad pitches, finding ways to get guys out, get outs early, and just get deep into ballgames like we were doing early in the season.”

Things went Irvin’s way for the most part on Wednesday night, with the right-hander retiring the first ten batters he faced, and allowing only the one-out in the fourth, and an ROE in the fifth as he held Atlanta’s Braves hitless through five.

Michael Harris II doubled with two out in the sixth, on Irvin’s 74th pitch, and scored on Jorge Soler’s double in the next at-bat, for the only run the Nationals’ starter allowed in six strong.

Irvin finished the night at 84 pitches overall, throwing 52 strikes, and 57% four-seamers (and 30% sinkers) in a fastball-heavy outing against the Nats’ NL East rivals (against whom he has gone 2-0 with a 1.16 ERA (3 ER/23.1 IP) in four starts this season). He mixed in 10 curveballs, a start after his manager talked about Irvin relying on his breaking ball too much at times.

“We told him his fastball is good, and you don’t have to throw so many curveballs. Throw it when you feel like you need it,” Martinez explained after a 5-1 win in Nationals Park. “I think him and [catcher] Keibert [Ruiz] worked really well together, they didn’t use it as much, but like I said, tonight it was really about his fastball.

“He threw some good changeups, not many, but he threw some good ones. But today was all about his fastball.”

The fact Irvin and Ruiz leaned on his fastball like they did was something Martinez said the young starter should take away from the outing.

“That when he’s got that kind of command on his fastball, use it. And keep attacking the hitters,” Martinez said.

“It was really good. They didn’t have very many good swings against him today, so really proud of him. He bounced back from the last outing and gave us six strong innings.”

His ability to put the previous outing behind him and got out and bounce back was another big takeaway for the manager.

“He flushes the one before that and gets to that next one. He’s been really good about that,” Martinez said.

“He’s a competitor. He wants to go out there, he wants to do his job, he wants to help us win, every time he goes out and pitches.

“He doesn’t dwell on mistakes, he tries to pick the positives and build from that, he’s really good at that.”

“He goes out there every five days and he gives us a chance to win games,” the manager added. “He’s been good, especially against the Braves. Today, he just really attacked the strike zone, had a really good fastball, two-seamer was working really good, but when he attacks the strike zone, man, he gets quick outs, and they don’t see him very well. It was a good day for him. I mean, I started worrying a little bit, because I said, ‘Oh, boy, we’re in the sixth inning and he hasn’t given up a hit yet.’ I wouldn’t have taken him out, but the fact he gave up a hit, I thought at [84] pitches, that was good.”

ALSO THIS:

CJ Abrams has struggled at the plate in the second half of the season, but he reached a bit of a milestone on Wednesday night, when he hit his 20th home run of the season:

Abrams, the Nationals highlighted in their post game notes, “… became the fourth player in Nationals’ history (2005-[present]) to record a 20/20 season,” with 20 HRs and 28 stolen bases, “joining Lane Thomas (2023), Bryce Harper (2016), Ian Desmond (2012, 2013, 2014) and Alfonso Soriano (2006),” on a short list of Nationals who’ve reached 20/20.

Davey Martinez told reporters he hoped reaching the plateau(s) he did last night might give Abrams a boost down the stretch as he tries to finish strong in a rough second-half.

“It should. That’s a heck of an accomplishment for a young player. I’m really proud of him. He’s been battling every day, and to get that out of the way, maybe he can relax a little bit and finish up the season out strong,” Martinez said.