Offense goes missing as Nationals fall to Twins

When things have gone well for the Washington Nationals this season, their starting pitchers have limited mistakes and lasted deep into games. There hasn’t been much in the way of firepower in the Nats bats, but they goal is to make up for it with timely hitting and aggressive baserunning. Realistically, this team is still a year or two away from being deep enough to win consistently, but the scrappiness and resilience of the current squad is admirable.

To that end, starter Jake Irvin had a respectable showing, striking out six Minnesota batters while allowing five hits and two earned runs over six and a third innings, but got zero support from Washington’s batters. The two runs allowed by Irvin came courtesy of solo homers by right fielder Max Kepler and shortstop Carlos Correa, but the Nats went zero for eight with runners in scoring position.

Designated hitter Joey Meneses homered off of Twins closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning, but it was too little, too late for the Nationals who fell 3-2, and have now lost seven of their last eight games. If the Nationals are to remain semi-competitive this season, they’re going to need the current crop of batters to step things up or perhaps infuse the roster with additional talent. If only they had a highly-touted power hitting outfielder in the system …

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