Nats again keep a clean sheet and end miserable road trip (updated)

CHICAGO — A road trip that began with a sweep of a playoff contender, resulted in the demotion of one cornerstone of the franchise’s rebuilding effort for disciplinary reasons and another’s flirtation with a no-hitter ended tonight with another loss that was dragged out for a few more hours just to be safe.

The Nationals’ 5-0 rain-related loss to the Cubs capped off a dismal 6-1 final away game of the season that didn’t have many uplifting moments.

After a three-game sweep of New York and three losses in four days at Wrigley Field, including the surprise demotion of CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore’s lone bright spot on the mound on Saturday, the Nats now trudge home to finish the 2024 season with six games against two rivals with a lot at stake: the Royals (wild card in the American League) and the Phillies (home field advantage in the National League).

With a record of 69-87, the Nationals need to win three of their final six games to surpass their winning record of 71 last year, but given their power, that could be a difficult task.

They scored a total of 14 runs in those seven games, including 11 in two games alone. In the other five games, they scored zero or one run.

“It was really hard for the team to score,” said catcher Keibert Ruiz. “Personally, I need to be better and have better at-bats.”

This was the 34th time the Nats were limited to one run or less. Only the White Sox (46), Reds (36) and Tigers (35) have done this more often. This was the 16th time they were held scoreless, a total surpassed only by the White Sox (19), who today tie the 1962 Mets as the only teams in modern history to lose 120 games.

The weather forecast looked bad all day, and sure enough, it rained nonstop throughout the morning and early afternoon. With the Cubs officially eliminated from the National League wild-card race on Saturday, this was no longer a “must-win” game, but the Cubs saw enough playing time later in the afternoon to delay first pitch.

About 2 hours and 20 minutes later, the game finally began. About half of the announced 30,086 spectators were still there. They were rewarded early on by the home team with an offensive.

Mike Tauchman, who moved into first batting position after Ian Happ was taken out of the game just minutes before the game began, hit Jake Irvin’s third pitch to right to give Chicago a quick 1-0 lead. Two batters later, the Cubs went up 2-0 on a walk and stolen base by Dansby Swanson and an RBI single by Seiya Suzuki.

“I think my preparation was pretty poor when we hit the delay,” Irvin said. “The mindset was good, but as I sat there and waited and then started again, things just sped up and I never slowed down.”

Irvin settled down and struck out eight of the next nine batters he faced, but he kept falling behind and saw his pitch count rise as a result. And when the second half of the fourth inning arrived, it all came back to haunt the right-hander.

Michael Busch opened the inning with a home run that looked very similar to Tauchman’s hit three innings earlier. And four batters later, Miguel Amaya hit a deep drive to left, a two-run blast that extended the Cubs’ lead to 5-0 and sealed Irvin’s fate.

Irvin’s pitch count had climbed to 83, but he was taken out of the game after the fourth inning. The five earned runs (four of which came on three home runs) raised his ERA to 4.22 and ruined his chance of getting the number under 4.00 by the end of the season. He is on schedule to play in the finale against the Phillies next Sunday, unless the Nationals change their plans.

“The last one is one you can either go into the offseason with a bitter taste in your mouth or you can enjoy it with elation,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m really excited to throw against Philly and I’m definitely glad there’s another one.”

With Irvin not at his best today, the Nationals needed some offensive help, and they didn’t get even close to that against the Cubs’ sensational rookie, Shoto Imanaga, who threw seven scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 2.91.

They had several opportunities to make a difference, but remained 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and wasted a leadoff double by James Wood in the fourth and a two-out double by Andrés Chaparro in the sixth inning.

They also saw Dylan Crews ground out with two on base and two outs in the fifth inning. The rookie extended his slump to 0-for-19 and his batting average dropped to .196 before finally hitting a sharp single up the middle early in the eighth inning, bringing his average back above the Mendoza Line.

“We had some innings where we could have scored some runs,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We just couldn’t score any runs. In those moments, we just start chasing. The pitcher should be the one who feels like he has to fight. We’re getting better.”