Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats beat Cardinals, 14-6; youth movement in motion in D.C.

Notes and quotes from the Nationals’ 14-6 win over the Cardinals on Saturday…

“As you can tell, we’ve got the youth movement going on,” Davey Martinez told reporters in D.C. after Washington designated veteran infielder Nick Senzel for assignment and brought Trey Lipscomb (24) back up to play third base for the Nationals going forward.

“He’s a big part of our future, so we wanted to give him an opportunity to see what he can do.”

The move to bring Lipscomb up comes days after top prospect James Wood (21) got the call, and the Nationals sent Joey Meneses down to Triple-A, with Juan Yepez (26) up now playing first base in the nation’s capital. They also designated veteran Eddie Rosario for assignment before releasing the outfielder.

The latest call-ups join CJ Abrams (23), Luis García, Jr. (24), Keibert Ruiz (25), Jacob Young (24), Nasim Nuñez (23), MacKenzie Gore (25), Jake Irvin (27), Mitchell Parker (24), DJ Herz (23), with a few more young players likely to come up as the season goes along.

“Our young guys are getting better at a rapid pace,” Martinez said before the second of four with the Cardinals in Nationals Park. “They’re getting pushed up. And we feel like these guys have the opportunity to help us. And for me, it’s about their growth. Now it’s about getting them up here and teaching them how to play the game up here, and how to be consistent.

“So there’s a good core, and there’s still many more to come, this is only the beginning of what we’re trying to do here, but like I said before, I think our future is really bright, but you can see it with Lipscomb, CJ, Gore, I could keep going on with all our starting pitchers.

“They’re really doing well. We got some other guys that are coming up…”

“For me it’s exciting because they’re getting this half-a-year, or almost a full year to play up here, so that when we’re really ready to compete, really compete, these guys already got their feet wet up here and they know what we expect, they know what we can do.”

In Saturday’s 14-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington’s lineup put up 15 hits, with Abrams homering on the first pitch of the home-half of the first inning and going 1 for 3 with a walk, Wood going 2 for 5 with his first double and home run in the majors, five RBIs, and a run scored, Ruiz 3 for 5 with a three-run home run, a double, and three runs scored, García, Jr. 3 for 5 with his 15th double, and Lipscomb 1 for 5 with a run scored.

“After what happened last night,” when the Nationals blew a 5-0 lead and eventually lost in extra innings, 7-6, “to see them come bounce back today and do what they did, that says a lot about the character of these guys, and our young players, they’re hungry,” Martinez said after the win over the Cards.

“They want to play. They want to play baseball. I was very proud of the way we came out today and hit the baseball. Really.

“We could have came back today, with this heat, kind of been lethargic, but they came out ready to swing, swing the bats.”

Their ability to move on, Martinez said, is something they’ve instilled in their players at every level of the organization.

“They’re instilled and bred to just put it past them. We don’t dwell on the bad things, we just try to stay positive here, and these guys have been really good about that,” he explained.

“‘Hey, forget about it, it’s over, let’s come back today and go 1-0.’”

Abrams homered in the first at-bat of the home-half of the first, Ruiz followed with his three-run blast, Wood’s first HR was a three-run shot as well, and after the Cardinals put four up in the top of the third, in what ended up a 44-pitch inning for Gore, 9-4, then Wood answered and drove in two more with a double in the third, 11-4.

“[Wood] got the big home run for us and then the double when they were started making a comeback, so he’s had some good days,” Martinez said of Wood’s production since he’s up.

“He’s been playing really well since he’s been here. I love his at-bats. He’s been very patient.

“He’s trying to get the ball in the zone, which we’ve talked to him about since Spring Training, so he’s doing well.”

Wood got up 2-0 against veteran Lance Lynn before the home run, then hit a fastball up in the zone 383 ft. to left field for his first blast in the majors and 11th homer overall in 2024.

“His at-bat was really good, to stay on the ball, and hit the ball the other way for his first home run, was awesome.”

Gore struggled, of course, giving up six hits, five walks, and five runs in just 3 ¹⁄₃ IP, in which he threw 90 pitches, 52 for strikes.

“I think, one, he lost his fastball a little bit. He fell behind nine hitters, seven of them got on base. He had a 44-pitch inning,” Martinez said.

“After that, in that heat, I think he just got gassed a little bit. It was hot, and he had [thrown] that many pitches. We tried to stretch him out, because our bullpen has been beat up.

“But [Pitching coach Jim] Hickey and I just said he can’t go no more. So, look, I’ll talk to him tomorrow and say, ‘Hey, forget about this one, let’s get ready for five days from now.’”

The bullpen picked Gore up with 5 ²⁄₃ innings in which they allowed five hits, two walks, and one earned run.

Overall, it was an impressive display of the talent the Nationals have assembled at the major league level.

“There’s a good core. And there’s still many more to come,” Martinez said.

“This is only the beginning of what we’re trying to do here. I think our future’s really bright.”