It is often said that Spring Training baseball is worlds different from the regular season, and this is obviously true for many reasons. But even though the experience may be different, many aspects remain the same, like the green grass, blue skies, and Rafael Soriano blowing up in a non-save situation.
After giving up two runs on three hits in a non-save inning of work against the Astros on March 7, Soriano melted down again today, allowing five runs on five hits and one hit by pitch while recording just two outs. His outing looks even worse when one considers who he faced: of the six players Soriano allowed to reach base, only three had ever played in the majors before, and one of those had not since 2009.
Manager Matt Williams said he was not concerned about Soriano’s outing, according to James Wagner of the Washington Post. It would be one thing if he had somehow lost his control or were injured, but Soriano is a known commodity, and since his effort level has been known to fluctuate, a game like this is much less of a harbinger of doom than it might seem.
Apart from Soriano’s sorry day, the Nats fared relatively well. Starter Gio Gonzalez struck out the side a perfect first, but a rough second saw him yield three hits, a walk, a hit batsman, and two runs. Gonzalez has been sharp otherwise in spring, so a small blip should be unconcerning.
Minor leaguer Blake Treinen was the positive pitching story of the game. He entered the day having given up four earned runs on nine hits over three innings in his prior two outings, but impressed today, giving up two hits, two walks, and no runs through three frames. Fellow Harrisburg Senator Aaron Barrett pitched similarly well, giving up one hit and recording four outs.
On the offensive side of things, the Nats saw mixed results. The four regulars to start today, Denard Span, Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, and Adam LaRoche, were a combined 2-10, and the newly acquired Jose Lobaton was 0-2 to move his spring line to 1-11, albeit with two walks.
While the big boys were middling, the youngsters made their mark once again. Tyler Moore and Zach Walters were both 1-1, with the latter raising his Spring Training batting average to .615. Shortstop Stephen Perez, who hit .236 at Class A Hagerstown last season, was 2-2 at the dish after replacing Walters. Double A Harrisburg outfielders Brian Goodwin and Stephen Souza, Jr. were both 1-2, with Souza hitting his first home run of the spring.
Some thoughts
- Outfielder Theo Bowe, who the Nats picked in the Triple A phase of the Rule 5 Draft earlier this year, made his spring debut today, entering as a pinch runner and going 0-1. It will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table, because the Nationals must have seen at least a spark of something to take a chance on him.
- Will Rhymes, who spent 2013 at Triple A Syracuse, is sneakily hitting .333 on the spring. He plays second and third, and will likely be behind Zach Walters and Jeff Kobernus in call-up priority if Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon, or Danny Espinosa gets injured, but is starting to look like good insurance to have.
- Xavier Cedeno has pitched well this spring, allowing only two hits and no runs in five innings over five appearances. He was great at Triple A last season too, with a 1.31 ERA in 39 appearances. He has stated his case to make the major league bullpen as well as anyone, but the team seems to continually overlook him for some indiscernible reason.