In his first homestand, Lee gets front-row seat

WASHINGTON -- Evan Lee was presented with two seating options for his first series at Nationals Park: the dugout along the first-base line or the bullpen in right field.

The left-hander, who was called up from Double-A for his Major League debut on June 1 in the first stretch of the Nats’ three-city road trip, had pitched at Citi Field and loanDepot Park, but not yet at Nationals Park.

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Lee was excited to soak up as much as possible, so he picked the view nearest the action.

“I was able to really see the hitters, how they’re trying to attack pitches, what they’re trying to do offensively and what their approach looks like,” Lee said Sunday morning before the Nationals’ 4-1 loss to the Brewers. “I think being able to see the pitch a little bit closer to the playing field is better.”

Manager Dave Martinez wanted Lee to be able to pick the brains of his new teammates and coaches in the dugout. Lee bonded easily with fellow 24-year-old Josiah Gray, who said they clicked over “being young guys trying to still get our footing” in the Majors. The pair of pitchers sat together in the dugout on Friday and Saturday.

“I kind of see a lot of myself in him,” Gray said. “Just kind of quiet, reserved, but will ask a question whenever they see fit.”

Gray made his Major League debut last July with the Dodgers and quickly became part of the Nationals starting rotation following a trade. Less than one year into his own big league career, he wanted to offer Lee advice without making it an obligation.

“He’ll ask me a pitching question, and I’ll give my take on it,” Gray said. “But I know I don’t want to cloud his whole process. … We were talking about positioning of the catcher a few days ago, and I was like, ‘I don’t want to change what you do, but this is what I do. Maybe give it a try, see how you like it.’”

Said Lee: “I can’t thank him enough.”

As Lee, ranked as Washington’s No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline, watched the first two games of the series, the Nationals told him to stay ready for any role. They had been keeping him stretched out in case he was called upon to start -- his role in the Minors -- but his two Major League appearances had been split: one as a starter, one as a reliever.

On Sunday, Lee’s task was a 2 1/3-inning relief appearance following Paolo Espino’s spot start. Lee allowed three hits and two runs on a two-out, two-run homer to Willy Adames, while recording two strikeouts. With this being his first trip back to Nats Park since signing with the team in 2018, he wanted to have had a stronger debut outing in front of the home crowd.

“I haven’t been up here that long, but I’ve played this game long enough to know when I’ve got to do a better job,” Lee said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Lee’s final frame against Milwaukee included an injury scare when Mark Mathias led off the inning with a line drive that bounced off Lee’s right knee. The left-hander was determined to stay in the game, and he persevered to retire the next two batters on eight pitches. He is expected to be “bruised up” for a few days, according to Martinez.

“I didn’t like the results that I was getting out there,” Lee said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, wasn’t very polished at all, by any means. And so when that happens, it fuels me, it gets me kind of pissed off. So I could care less about the pain. I just wanted to push on in the game and help our team get deeper in the ballgame. That was the job that I was tasked to do before the game and so, by golly, I was going to get it done.”

While Lee identified areas of his start he would like to have executed differently, Martinez said he was pleased with how he and Espino kept the Nationals in the game. The Nationals manager has seen growth in Lee’s three outings since his debut, and his commitment to being a student of the game is translating to the field.

“He’s got that sneaky intensity,” Martinez said. “He’s always fired up, ready to go all the time -- and I like that. The quiet ones, for me, are the ones you’ve really got to watch out for. He’s that guy. … He’s a good kid, he really is, and he’s eager to learn as much as he can.”