PHILADELPHIA – Here is one idea: Blindfold the starting pitcher an hour before first pitch, and upon his release tell him it’s the second inning. If not that, what about hypnosis? Maybe the Washington Nationals could petition Major League Baseball to remove all ‘1s’ from stadium scoreboards. Something. Anything. They should be open to all suggestions. Thirty games in, nothing has solved the Nationals’ inexplicable, alarming penchant for first-inning implosions.
While the Nationals have so often overcome early meltdowns, Saturday night’s 7-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies offered proof that comeback victories should be treated as a luxury, not a formula. Tanner Roark began the worst outing his brief, sparkling career by allowing a three-run homer in the first inning to Ryan Howard. The Nationals had recovered from an identical hole Friday night. Saturday, right-hander A.J. Burnett showed them what usually happens when you take the field and start digging.
The Nationals have relied on stingy relief pitching and clutch hitting to surge from behind. But they are behind constantly. The Nationals have allowed 31 runs — more than one per game — in the first inning, more than any team in baseball. Eight times, they have yielded at least three runs in the opening frame. They have lost six of those games, including Saturday night’s shellacking.
In his previous start, Roark retired the first 16 batters he faced and fired a shutout, the first complete game of his career. Saturday, whatever first-inning malady his rotation cohorts possess, infected him. Jimmy Rollins, the second hitter of the game, singled and stole second. Roark walked Chase Utley, which brought Howard to the plate.
Roark jumped ahead of Howard with a sinker he fouled away. On 0-1, Roark hurled a sinker over the outside part of the plate. But it stayed up enough for Howard to extend his massive arms. Howard smashed it over the left field fence, an opposite-field, three-run homer that put the Nationals in a familiar position. Sunday, perhaps, the Nationals can petition the Phillies to shove back the start time 15 minutes.
Friday night, Jayson Werth’s error extended the first inning and Stephen Strasburg surrendered a three-run homer to Marlon Byrd. The Nationals scrapped for two runs against Cliff Lee and pulverized the Phillies bullpen as Strasburg righted himself. It had been an effective plan all season. Before Saturday, the Nationals had been outscored, 75-56, before the sixth inning. From the sixth inning and later, the Nationals had drubbed opponents, 75-36.
Saturday, Roark could not hold the fort, and Burnett would not buckle. Cody Asche made the deficit 4-0 with a solo homer off Roark in the second inning. The Nationals did not record their first hit until the fourth, when Adam LaRoche lined a double into right field.
Roark’s brief major league career had contained no nights without answers. He cannot claim that any more. The Phillies tacked on another run in the fourth inning, and they chased him before he could record an out in the fifth. In four-plus innings, Roark allowed seven runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out five.
Roark (2-1) excels with precision, but Saturday his control escaped him. He consistently elevated his fastball. He also thrives when he attacks hitters, and he threw first-pitch balls to nine of 20 hitters. He typically makes pitching seem simple, but Saturday night he made everything hard on himself.
The Nationals have been shut out only once this season, and LaRoche prevented a second. In the sixth, he launched Burnett’s 1-2 sinker down the right field line. The ball snuck over the fence and inside the foul pole. LaRoche’s team-leading fifth home run of the season made it 7-1 and helped save face. Other than LaRoche, the Nationals managed one hit and a walk against Burnett in six innings.
The next half-inning, Manager Matt Williams replaced LaRoche with Tyler Moore, presumably to rest LaRoche’s ailing quadriceps muscle. LaRoche sat out Wednesday’s victory in Houston and exited Friday in the eighth inning. LaRoche has been the Nationals’ best hitter, and a blowout gave Williams a chance to rest him without sacrificing a chance to win.
“It’s going to be an everyday thing until hopefully he gets over it,” Williams said. “We’re looking at long-term. If he gets in a situation where he [hurts] it really bad, then you’re looking at a couple weeks. But then again, we have to play, and we have to be competitive and give ourselves a chance to win. We’ll try to strike that balance. It’s a hard one to strike, though.”
Zach Walters added a pinch-hit home run off reliever Mario Hollands, which added to a season batting line heavy on true outcomes: he’s 3 for 14 with three homers, six strikeouts and two walks.
Once the sixth ended, a burst of rain and a flash of lightning sent the grounds crew scurrying. The 24-minute rain delay only extended the misery for the Nationals. Maybe the delay allowed the Nationals more time to figure out the first inning.