CHICAGO -- With roughly three weeks left in the season, all eyes will be on the younger players in Washington. This last month is a great opportunity for players like Brad Lord to show their potential for the future.
Lord surely showcased some of that potential in the Nationals’ 2-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon. He put together arguably the best start of his young career, allowing just one run on two hits across 5 2/3 strong innings.
“He was just attacking the strike zone,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “He mixed it up really good and threw strikes when he needed to throw strikes. He threw the breaking pitch when he needed to throw the breaking pitch. So he kept them out of balance. It was nice to see him come back and be himself.”
It was a nice sign indeed to see Lord bounce back following his past two outings. He gave up seven runs (six earned) across 4 1/3 innings against the Yankees on Aug. 25, then allowed seven earned runs over three innings of work against the Rays on Aug. 31.
An outing like this is certainly a step in the right direction for a pitcher who is looking to end his rookie campaign on a high note. After his 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball with two hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts against the Cubs, it marked just the third time this season that Lord has allowed only one run while pitching at least five innings. Not only that, but his seven strikeouts were a career high.
The rookie struck out the side in both the third and fourth innings, with notable K's against Dansby Swanson, on a perfectly placed slider right outside the zone, and Ian Happ on a changeup right below the zone.
“Oh, it’s awesome,” Lord said. “I didn’t even really realize until after the inning. I was like, ‘Wait, I think that was two innings in a row.’ It was a good feeling, and I didn’t really let myself reflect on it during the game, but thinking about it now, that was pretty cool.”
An outing like this is certainly a step in the right direction for a pitcher who is looking to end his rookie campaign on a high note. Over his 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball with two hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts against the Cubs. It marked just the third time this season that Lord has allowed only one run while pitching at least five innings. Not only that, but his seven strikeouts were a career high.
“It was awesome to see him do that,” reliever Cole Henry said. “Obviously, any time a starter goes [into the] sixth inning, it’s awesome for us too. We love to see him go out there and do that, and then obviously our job is to go out there and shut it down after him and make sure he gets that win and the whole team gets a win. So, it’s awesome.”
It has certainly been an up-and-down rookie season for Lord, who has rotated between a starting role and a bullpen role. He had a 4.44 ERA across six starts at the beginning of the season before transitioning to the bullpen in early May.
Lord pitched well as a reliever from May 11 to July 12, posting a 2.70 ERA with 35 strikeouts across 36 2/3 innings. With Lord seeming to find his groove again and showing some promise, the team decided to reinsert him into the rotation after the All-Star break.
However, the 25-year-old has had some troubles in his return to the rotation. He entered the day with a 5.82 ERA and only 29 strikeouts in eight starts, which included allowing at least four earned runs in three straight outings.
“It’s been definitely just a wild roller-coaster ride, between starting in the bullpen and then going to starting and then back to the bullpen, and now starting again,” Lord said. “So, it’s been a season full of adjustments. But it’s awesome. I love every second of it here. I love all the guys, love all my teammates, and the staff. It’s a great place.”
While the results haven’t necessarily been there for Lord since returning to the rotation, it’s outings like Saturday that show what type of pitcher he can be in the big leagues.
Lord is just hoping that he can build off this strong start and finish his rookie year on a string of high notes.
“It’s definitely a huge confidence boost,” Lord said. “Any time you can take a good start and just try to keep that momentum rolling into the next one.”