Bullpen Implosion Ruins Rubber Match Lead

Nats Chat

Mark Zuckerman & Al Galdi

Baseball, Sports

4.9 • 574 Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Nats took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 6th, but a few frames later found themselves down ten runs. Mark (From Dodger Stadium) & Al recap the 13-7 defeat on Sunday afternoon that was fueled by a terrible bullpen performance. Then 'pen combined to allow ten runs in under three innings of work. (10:30) Ryan Loutos was the choice to pitch the bottom of the 7th when trailing 4-3 instead of Cole Henry. Loutos then proceeded to not retire any of the six Dodger hitters he faced. (12:10) Kyle Finnegan never appeared in this series despite many other relievers taking the mound multiple times. (19:30) Michael Soroka had ten strikeouts through five shutout innings, but then was charged with three runs while briefly pitching in the 6th. This continues a familiar pattern of Soroka's box score not being indicative of how effective he was for the most part. (25:00) The Nationals scored four runs off of Kike Hernandez in the top of the 9th as LA surprisingly put a position player on the mound while ahead by ten runs. Hernandez was unable to finish the game and a reliever had to be summoned anyhow. (30:15) Nathaniel Lowe's 3-run HR gave the Nats their 3-0 lead until it fell apart in the 6th. Lowe has 13 HRs, but his OPS is at .699 and that causes the hosts to wonder if Lowe is having a good season or not.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Walter Sports Bar has been recognized by many local publications as one of the best sports bars in Washington, D.C., located across the street from Nationals Park and open year-round.
0:14.9	Nathaniel with 47 RBIs. Here's the pitch.
0:19.1	So he had a high drive, blasted left center field. Kim going back at the warning track, at the wall. He leaps. It's off his glove. Off his glove again, and the ball lands on the warning track. Two runs are going to score as low as in at second with a double. And the Nationals lead at two to nothing. That ball hit Kim's glove twice.
0:38.2	The call is overturned.
0:40.5	It is a home run.
0:43.3	Nathaniel Lowe will circle the bases.
0:45.5	He will touch on plate to make the score three-nothing Nationals.
0:50.1	Here's the set for rare deals.
0:52.2	So we had a fly ball, deep left center field. Back young, back wood, not going to get it.
0:56.0	It's gone.
0:57.0	It's a grand slam.
0:59.0	And the Dodgers lead four to three.
1:02.0	Henry Deals.
1:04.0	Swain a high drive, deep right center field.
1:06.0	Back young, forget about it.
1:08.0	It is long gone into the pavilion. It 11 to 3 munsey has two homers and
1:16.1	seven rb i's in the last two innings and welcome to nat's chat along with massensports dot com
1:23.0	nationals insider mark sukerman who was at dodger stadium in los ang. I'm Al-Galdi host of the Al-Galdi
1:28.8	podcast. The Nats winning two out of three games at the National League West leading Los Angeles
1:33.6	Dodgers was right there. The Nats on Sunday held a three-nothing six-inning lead, but they blew that
1:40.1	lead as the Nats bullpen struck again. The Nats allowed four runs in the bottom of the six,
1:45.8	seven runs in the bottom of the seventh, and two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Four Nats
	...

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