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Mitchell Layton

The Washington Nationals’ frustration — with themselves, with the umpires, with their general predicament — had been bubbling for a few innings. When it finally boiled over in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 5-3 loss to the Houston Astros, Manager Dave Martinez left his restraint on the dugout steps.

He ran out to the first base line, boos still raining down at <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/04/14/nationals-park-dc-guide/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Nationals Park</a> after Ildemaro Vargas was caught stealing on a call that was upheld via video replay. This, on the heels of a called third strike to pinch hitter Joey Gallo that appeared out of the strike zone. The men in blue were waiting for him, and plate umpire Cory Blaser tossed him — with some help from third base umpire Todd Tichenor — after about 10 seconds of argument. Martinez, however, wasn’t done. He continued to yell, waving his hands in confusion and disgust, briefly getting down to one knee to demonstrate his point of contention: that shortstop Jeremy Peña was blocking the base with his foot and should have been called for obstruction, a rule MLB has encouraged umpires to enforce this season.

“The fact that they can’t see it is brutal,” Martinez said. “I mean, Vargas almost broke his hand. Guy was blocking the base. That’s obstruction to me. … If you’re going to make rules, umpires need to know the rules.”

“Obstruction is not challengeable,” he added. “That’s going to end up having to change. But that’s my opinion.”

In the first of a three-game series that is also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/16/nationals-world-series-anniversary/" target=_blank>a celebration of the five-year anniversary of Washington’s win over Houston</a> for the franchise’s only World Series title, the vibes by the end of the night were a far cry from celebratory.

Blaser seemed to be at the center of much of the anger. Take the 78th and final pitch of Justin Verlander’s season debut. The 3-2 fastball to Jesse Winker was a borderline strike but one a future Hall of Famer is going to get more often than not. Winker disagreed, and he discussed the pitch with Blaser for a good 25 seconds after the at-bat.

The Nationals (8-11) had beaten Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on their recent trip, but Verlander was in command for six efficient innings, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out four. The three-time Cy Young Award winner, still dealing at 41, had velocity and location throughout his start and left Washington hitters making a lot of slow walks back to the home dugout.

“He was throwing his curveball for strikes. His fastball location was good. Just couldn’t get nothing going,” Martinez said.

Verlander was staked to a three-run lead in the second when the Astros (7-14) rattled off four straight hits — including three doubles — against starter MacKenzie Gore to open the inning.

The Nationals failed to get a runner on base until the No. 8 hitter, Riley Adams, turned a rare Verlander mistake down the middle into a double. After Vargas singled him in to cut the deficit to 3-1, the bats shrank again, stirring only when Adams came back up and beat Verlander again with a homer to straightaway center field.

“I mean, he’s Justin Verlander,” Adams said. “That’s what makes him tough. First-ballot Hall of Famer. I was just looking to hit something early and not let the at-bat go too long, and thankfully he left a couple of pitches more in the middle of the zone.”

Houston led 5-2 in the ninth before Washington made it interesting against closer Josh Hader. A leadoff triple from CJ Abrams and a sacrifice fly from Winker pulled the Nationals within two before a single from Lane Thomas and walk by Luis García Jr. put the winning run at the plate. But Hader got Joey Meneses to strike out chasing after a slider outside the zone before fanning pinch hitter Nick Senzel on a high fastball.

By then, Gore was long gone, lasting four innings and 92 pitches, undone by the second inning.

“It’s frustrating,” Gore said. “To give up three runs in four innings is frustrating. Just couldn’t put guys away. I felt good, I don’t know if it was execution or — they’re also good.”

<b>Notes: </b>Victor Robles, who has been on the 10-day injured list since April 4 with a left hamstring strain, is throwing and hitting without pain and will soon jog and take fielding drills, Martinez said. He probably will be sent on a rehab assignment before returning to the 26-man roster. …

Right-hander Josiah Gray, who landed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 6 after hurting his right elbow, is playing catch at 60 feet, Martinez said. …

Washington has yet to decide whether Keibert Ruiz will go out on  a rehab assignment before rejoining the team. The catcher has been out since April 8 with the flu. He is feeling much better, though, and recently played catch and took batting practice.

American University, BA in Journalism

Spencer Nusbaum covers the Washington Nationals for the Washington Post. Previously, he covered high school sports and worked as a news aide in the Post's sports section. He is an American University graduate and has written about the WNBA for The Next.

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Nationals’ frustration boil over as Dave Martinez ejected in loss

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