Washington Nationals news & notes: Dodgers sweep series in D.C.; MacKenzie Gore solid vs LA + more…

Notes and quotes on the Nationals getting swept by the Dodgers in the nation’s capital…

SECOND INNING STRUGGLES:

MacKenzie Gore left a 2-2 changeup up in the zone to Teoscar Hernández in the top of the second, and the Dodgers’ right fielder hit it out to left-center field, 408 ft. from home for a solo shot to lead off the inning, giving LA a 1-0 lead early in the series finale in D.C.

As Kevin Frandsen noted on MASN’s broadcast of the late afternoon matchup, the second inning has been a tough one for Gore early this season, with the lefty’s .550/.565/.750 line against in the second inning sticking out when you look at his splits (1st – .200/.294/.200; 3rd – .214/.313/.214; 4th – .077/.077/.077; 5th – .200/.333/.500; 6th – .250/.250/.500 before Thursday’s game).

He was true to early-season form Thursday afternoon, bouncing back nicely from the 26-pitch second, which followed a dominant 10-pitch, 9-strike, 1-2-3 first.

Gore got a double play to get out of the third, and fourth, and the fifth, but he was up to 90 pitches total after five, with six hits, two walks, and the one run allowed, striking out three.

Manager Davey Martinez sent Gore back out for the sixth, and he gave up a leadoff single by Freddie Freeman, picked up his fourth K, and then got another double play, 8-3 this time, on a play by Jacob Young, who ranged over in right-center to catch a fly ball before throwing it in to double up Freeman, who was around third, either forgetting how many outs there were or thinking it was a hit off the bat.

Gore finished the night at 102 pitches, with 17 swinging strikes, 11 on his fastball (which sat at 97.1 MPH and got up to 98.6), and 11 called strikes on the days, five each with his fastball and curve, and one on his slider. Dodgers’ hitters did manage to foul off 21 of 55 pitches in the game, which helped drive his pitch count up.

“Today was a growth moment for him,” Martinez said after what ended up a 2-1 loss which gave LA all three games in the series in D.C. “Going back out there for the sixth inning, knowing he had over 90 pitches, he did really well, really well. I’m very proud of him. He gave us everything he had, and he grinded it out. So he did well. We keep getting good starting pitching like that we’re going to be fine.”

“Made pitches when we needed to,” Gore said of his work with a returning Keibert Ruiz in the outing. “Defense was really good. We turned — what was it? Four double plays.

“We’re playing well. It’s frustrating when you lose. But we’re playing good. Just keep coming in and competing, and we’ll be okay.”

While his manager said it was a growth moment and learning experience for Gore, what did Martinez learn about his starter?

“He came out today on fire. That first inning was pretty impressive, and then he settles in, and there’s a lot of fouls … what I love though, he stayed in each at-bat, each pitch, he got the ground balls when he needed. We turned some double plays behind him, which was awesome. If he can do that and understand that’s a big part of the game: Sometimes not striking out a hitter and getting two outs in one pitch keeps him in the game, keeps him going into that sixth inning, that’s awesome.”

ADAMS BACK TO BACKUP:

Filling in for Keibert Ruiz as the Nationals’ No. 1 catcher while Ruiz was on the IL with a bad case of influenza, Riley Adams went 10 for 37 (.270/.333/.460), with four doubles, a homer, four walks, and 11 Ks in 11 games and 42 plate appearances, starting in 11-straight while his fellow backstop was unavailable.

Adams, a reporter noted, did a really nice job over that stretch of starts.

“Great job,” Martinez qualified. And as Ruiz works back to full strength (after losing 18-20 pounds while sick), the Nats’ skipper said he’d keep Adams sharp by getting him in their lineup as often as makes sense.

“We’re definitely going to use him,” Martinez explained. “One, let him catch. And also two, we can also DH Keibert like we’ve done in the past and let [Adams] continue to catch. He’s done a great job. He’s learned a lot over the years. He’s really coming into his own. So it’s good to have him, it’s good to to watch him play and good to watch him get better every day he’s out there.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“Not only has his hitting been good,” the manager added, “but his catching has been a lot better. His calling games has been a lot better, he’s handling our staff really well. So, that’s awesome.”

Where has Martinez seen growth from the 27-year-old catcher this season?

“He’s got a real grasp on how he’s handling the pitching staff,” he said. “Individual pitchers, our starters, what he wants to do, how he wants to attack hitters, he’s done a great job.

“He’s really taken charge, his communication has been off the charts with the pitchers, so it’s been good.”

Ruiz went 0 for 4 with a K as the Nationals’ offensive as a whole struggled to get it going in the series finale.

“He looked fine,” Martinez said after the game.

“He caught well. He looked fine. I’ll see how he feels tomorrow. It’s nine innings. So I’ll see how he feels tomorrow and we’ll go from there.”

Nats’ starter MacKenzie Gore said it was nice to have Ruiz back. “It was good. We need him.”