Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats lose a sloppy, 3-2 game to Guardians…

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ loss to the Guardians on Saturday…

SLOPPY:

Davey Martinez used the word “sloppy” to describe the Washington Nationals’ 3-2 loss to Cleveland’s Guardians on Saturday afternoon four times in 4:25 of his post game presser MASN posted online.

Mitchell Parker struggled with his command early in the second of three for the Nationals in Progressive Field, giving up a single and back-to-back walks in the bottom of the first inning, then he picked up a K for out No. 2, before Guardians’ first baseman Kyle Monzado hit a pop to short left where Nick Senzel, Ildemaro Vargas, and Eddie Rosario converged to … watch it fall in for a two-run hit.

There was a chance to respond in the second, with Luis Garcia, Jr. singling to start the top of the inning, and trying to score from first on a two-out double by Senzel, only to have a late “Stop!” sign thrown up by third base coach Ricky Gutierrez. García, Jr. tried to hold up, slipped, and got tagged out in a rundown for the third out of the frame.

José Ramírez singled to start the Guardians’ third, stole second base one out later, and then scored from there on a wild pitch by Parker, who didn’t get in a good position to place a tag after Riley Adams got the ball and threw it home, 3-0, in what ended up a 3-2 loss.

“That game was just sloppy on our part,” Martinez said after the game. “They got five hits. Blooper we should have caught, a couple infield hits, but we made a couple outs on the bases, just a lot of mistakes. [Parker] should have got out of the inning not giving up any runs, and that cost us the game. We’ve got to play better. And we’ve been playing good.

“I’m not going to critique the way we’re playing. But today was just sloppy. So we need to come back tomorrow, and play the way we have been playing, and try to win a ballgame.

“But today was just sloppy.”

So, was it sloppy?

“We were sloppy,” he told reporters at another point. “But we got a chance to come back tomorrow, and have a good road trip, and let’s come back and play baseball tomorrow.”

Starting with the ball which fell in for a two-run hit, whose ball was it?

Martinez said Vargas (filling in after CJ Abrams was a late scratch with a shoulder issue after he face-planted on the infield in Friday’s game), should have caught it.

“He should have caught the ball. [Vargas] called it. He waved. I think — my assumption is he heard someone else call it, but he’s run that far, just catch the ball.

“The ball’s got to be caught.”

And García, Jr.’s out around third? Martinez acknowledged the stop sign went up late.

“[Gutierrez] tried to hold him up a little later. He saw the ball go past the one cutoff man,” Martinez explained.

“But yeah, it’s a play where — we’re not swinging right now. We’re not hitting.

“We thought we had a chance if we try to hold him up, and Luis slipped trying to get back and just couldn’t get back.”

And the play at the plate with Parker?

“He was standing behind home plate,” Martinez said. “I don’t think he realized that — one, I don’t know if he thought [Ramirez] was coming, but he should have been ready to catch the ball in front of home plate there and make the tag. It’s unfortunate. He threw the ball really well.

“Like I said, a couple of infield hits, a blooper, so just one of those days where today things just didn’t work out, didn’t happen, we were sloppy. But we got a chance to come back tomorrow, and have a good road trip, and let’s come back and play baseball tomorrow.”

As for the rest of Parker’s outing, which saw him give up four hits, four walks, and the three earned runs, generating five Ks, 15 swinging strikes (6 with his fastball, 4 with his curve, and 5 on his splitter), and 17 called strikes (8 on his fastball and 9 on his curveball)?

“He was throwing the ball up,” Martinez said. “[Pitching Coach Jim] Hickey talked to him, he started to settle down a little bit, getting the ball in the strike zone. The ball was coming out well though. He settled down, and he pitched really well. Our pitching has been really good.

“We’ve been pitching, we’ve been staying in the game. We got to get some more timely hitting. That’s been the key, but like I said, we got to come back tomorrow and go 1-0.”