As a fan of this team, all of the losing at home is getting old. The Nats have been playing a fun and aggressive brand of baseball on the road. However, they have treated their fans to some flat and sloppy baseball. Today was a perfect example of that. This game was there for the taking, but the Nats did not grab it.
They went 1/11 with runners in scoring position and only scored one run despite constantly getting the leadoff man on. It was not a blowout, but I think this was one of the Nats worst overall performances of the season. The pitching kept them in the game, but the bats went quiet and the gloves were mistake prone.
It turned out that this game was decided in the first inning. After Foster Griffin got two quick outs, he ran into trouble, giving up one hit and two walks. However, with the bases loaded, he got a ground ball that should have ended the inning. Instead, an indecisive Brady House booted the ball, allowing a run to score and everyone to advance a base. Then Brandon Lockridge drove a single through the hole to score two more runners.
The game was now 3-0, but none of the runs were earned. It has been a really rough start to the season on the defensive side of the ball for Brady House. He looked rock solid last year, but now already has six errors in 2026. Coming into this game, House had posted -2 outs above average, a number that is likely to drop even further. It has been an all around regression on that side of the ball for the 22 year old.
It is still early, but you have to wonder if House’s job could be in jeopardy. Yohandy Morales has been hitting the cover off the ball in AAA and is deserving of an opportunity before too long. Between his poor defense and his issues with fastballs, House might need a re-set if this continues for much longer.
Outside of their 14 run outburst against the Mets, this offense has really cooled off. That was likely to be inevitable given the talent on the roster. It is still a bummer though. The lack of clutch hitting has been very frustrating lately.
One bright spot for today and the season as a whole is Foster Griffin. While Griffin did not have his best stuff or command, he was able to grind through six innings, and did not allow any earned runs. Griffin did not allow any runs at all after that unfortunate first inning.
Griffin only got two whiffs today, both on curveballs. However, he did a good job keeping the ball off the barrel. There was not a lot of loud contact given up by Griffin after that first inning. He was uncharacteristically wild, walking four batters, but that is an outlier for the normally precise Griffin.
Foster Griffin pitched well enough to get a win, but instead, he tasted defeat for the first time as a National. The disparity between how the Nats play at home compared to how they compete on the road is truly jarring. You would think a team would come out with more juice and energy in front of their home fans, but it has been the opposite for the Nats.
Tomorrow is going to be a really big game for them. They desperately need Zack Littell to step up and be the guy Paul Toboni signed him to be. He had a solid start against the Brewers the last time he pitched against them, so hopefully that can give him some confidence.
Today was yet another disappointing day at the yard for Nats fans. They will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow and avoid falling 10 games under .500 at home. This Nats team has shown some real positive signs, but the home losing is becoming a dark cloud for this group.
