Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats snap 5-game skid with 12-3 win over Twins; Tanner Rainey Project…

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ win over the Twins last night in Nationals Park…

OFF THE ROAD:

Luis García, Jr. homered, after Joey Meneses singled to start the inning, and after Mitchell Parker gave up a run in the top of the second, 2-1 Nationals. Then it was Jesse Winker with his 6th on the season, a solo shot in the home-half of the fourth. Jacob Young drove two in with a single in the fifth, 5-1, Meneses drove Young in, 6-1, and Garcia, Jr. kept it rolling for Washington with an RBI single of his own, 7-1.

It was 7-3 in the home team’s favor when Eddie Rosario singled to drive in a run in the Nats’ sixth, and he and Young scored on a throwing error, by Minnesota Twins’ catcher Christian Vázquez, on a stolen base attempt by the 32-year-old outfielder, 10-3, before Rosario drove in two ore with a single in the eighth, 12-3.

Mitchell Parker put together a strong outing as well, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out seven in a 94-pitch, 64-strike turn in the rotation, which saw the lefty pick up 13 swinging and 17 called strikes, 10 on his fastball.

Derek Law (2.0 scoreless, 1 hit) and Dylan Floro (1.0 scoreless, 0 hits) finished things off for the Nationals, who took the series opener in the nation’s capital.

Coming off a 2-7 road trip, nursing a five-game losing streak, manager Davey Martinez and his club needed this one, and they put together a well-pitched, 14-hit, 12-run win, in which they were 5 for 8 with runners in scoring position, with those 14 total hits tying their club’s season-high.

“Early things start to fall in place, they start to relax a little bit, the at-bats get better,” Davey Martinez told reporters when the manager spoke after the series-opening win for his club.

“We stayed in the middle of the field,” he said. “That’s the big thing today, we hit some home runs but for the most part if you look at all our hits they were in the middle of the field, which we talk about all the time, so you get that and you get another good outing from Mitchell [Parker] and it becomes a good day.”

The fact that his club produced the offense they did, mixing two home runs, two doubles, two stolen bases, and five RBI singles, had the manager excited.

“I love it,” Martinez said.

“I love the energy. I love the way we play. We get guys on base we’re going to make things happen. We got the guys that can do that, and it’s a lot of fun to watch these guys get out there and play the game and run the bases correctly.”

PROJECT RAINEY:

Tanner Rainey went 15 days and 12 games between appearances, then he struggled on the mound in return to the mound on Sunday afternooon, walking a couple batters, recording two outs, then surrendering a three-run, 403-foot home run on a 2-0 fastball up and in for Alec Bohm, who crushed it (105 MPH exit velo).

The good news?

Rainey’s velo, which has been down from previous seasons, was up in the outing in Citizens Bank Park (from 93.3 MPH so far this season to 95 MPH average on the night), and his slider was up too (from 85.8 to 88.2).

“He hasn’t pitched in a while. He walked the first two guys, and then he settled in,” manager Davey Martinez said after a third straight loss to the Phillies and the Nats’ fifth straight loss overall.

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

“His velo was up again, I thought he threw the ball well, but when you get behind to some of these good hitters, and you leave a fastball in the middle of the plate, things happen. But overall I thought he was a lot better. The velo was there, now it’s about throwing strikes, consistent strikes, you know, so I thought other than the two walks, and the home run, for him that could be a positive thing. Now he’s just got to understand that, ‘Hey, he’s got to throw the ball in the strike zone.”

“He doesn’t have that 97-98 like he used to,” the skipper said earlier in the series with the Phillies, “… so the slider’s a big part of his arsenal right now, and he’s got to use it. He can throw it for strikes, it’s that good.”

Martinez said then that the difficult task he’s faced with is finding spots to give Rainey a chance to work things out.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get him back out there. All our games have been relatively close, so it’s tough. We’ve got some guys who are throwing the ball really well. But he is part of our bullpen, and I’ve got to get him out there.”

It’s also a matter of Rainey, as Martinez noted earlier this month, adjusting to his post-surgery stuff.

“I’m still hoping that utilizing his lower half a little better, [the velo will] come up,” Martinez said. “At times we’ll see that 94-95, but we’ve got to get him to understand that, hey, right now it’s not there. It’s more about your pitch selection. It’s more about location. Throwing fastballs right down the middle is not going to work, especially to good hitters.”

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

“We’re tinkering around a with a little bit of his mechanics,” he explained.

“Trying to get him to stay in his legs a little bit more, the thing is being able to throw strikes consistently. When he’s around the strike zone he does fairly well. When his slider is in the zone, it’s a good pitch for him, so we got to get him ahead, we got to get him to understand that strike one is still his best pitch, you know, and he’s got to attack the strike zone. We’re going to keep working with him and see where we’re at. I’m not going to give up on him. We’re trying to ease his way in, try to put him in situations where hopefully he can start feeling a little better. But he’s a big part of that bullpen, and we’re going to need him.”

While he’s obviously struggled to return to his pre-Tommy John form, Martinez said one things he knows is Rainey has the right mentality.

“He’s a bulldog. He really is. He bounces back, he gets ready to go, he’s back on the mound, he wants the baseball, and I love that about him.”

ALSO THIS:

AND THIS DOOOOOO!!!!:

PLUS THIS:

Davey Martinez on Cade Cavalli’s return to competitive action following Tommy John surgery is 2023:

“It’s awesome. It’s a process, and he’s done really well. I know he feels like he’s ahead of the game, but we had to stay with what we know about this Tommy John stuff and we want to make sure his progressions are what we think they should be. And he’s done really well with it.”