'Just wasn't our day': Defensive miscues sink Nationals

WASHINGTON -- Coming off a comeback win on Friday night, the Nationals looked to get the second game of the series against the Blue Jays off to a strong start. However, errors proved to be their Achilles heel.

The Nationals committed four errors in the infield in the 6-3 loss against the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park -- their first multi-error game this season.

“We should’ve had a couple of double plays and we couldn’t capitalize on that,” said manager Dave Martinez. “We tried to battle back and score late again, because we couldn’t score early. … It was just one of those days. We’ve been playing really good defense and I harp on it all the time. Today just wasn’t our day.”

Entering the game, Washington’s defense was solid, ranking second in the Majors with only 10 errors in 32 games. The club had not allowed more than two errors in a game since a 5-3 loss against the Braves on Sept. 30.

Saturday's loss broke that streak.

After Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin dealt his second pitch of the day to leadoff hitter George Springer, third baseman Nick Senzel made his way into the grass to collect the ball and deliver it to Trey Lipscomb at first base. The ball found the edge of Lipscomb’s glove and bounced off, skipping out into the nearby fans. Senzel was quick to recognize his mistake.

“True to Nick, he said, ‘I should’ve thrown the ball across the field,’” Martinez said.

What followed: a walk, three singles and a very rare sight: a throwing error by Lipscomb.

The rookie missed CJ Abrams just wide of second base in what could have been an inning-ending double play. The ball went out into left field, giving the Blue Jays time to score two runs.

Lipscomb has only played first base in three games, and despite the error, he says he feels comfortable in the position.

Irvin brushed off the errors and retired the last two batters of the Blue Jays lineup to end the inning. He held Toronto to those four unearned runs in the first. The right-hander struck out four and allowed five hits and one walk in five innings to bring his ERA to 3.72. Irvin dealt 107 pitches -- 69 of which were strikes.

“It’s just throwing strikes and keeping that trust in the defense and allowing those guys to make plays,” Irvin said. “For me, it’s a matter of continuing to throw strikes to get ahead of guys and compete day in and day out.”

The Nats began to get back into a rhythm defensively -- that is until the fourth inning. Senzel committed his second error, allowing Springer to reach first base once more.

“It was just a little wet and I didn’t really have a good grip,” Senzel said. “It sucks making two errors and not playing good defense behind [Irvin], because he threw the ball well.”

Along with the uncharacteristic errors made by the infield defense, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman’s splitter was another challenge that the young offense could not figure out.

“You get to two strikes and you have to battle out there,” Martinez said on Gausman’s splitter. “That’s his out pitch and he throws it really well.”

The Nationals were kept off the scoreboard until the seventh inning, when they cut their deficit by two runs and looked to be on a similar path to the series opener. But the rally was cut short, and the Blue Jays added two more in the eighth.

Second baseman Luis García Jr. committed a fielding error in the top of the ninth inning, but the Nats quickly shut down the Blue Jays’ final opportunity to add to their lead again. The 23-year-old García redeemed himself in the bottom half, singling on a line drive down right field to bring in Lipscomb.

But the deficit was too large for the offense to overcome.

“It’s baseball, it happens,” Lipscomb said. “We just have to go out there tomorrow and execute a little bit better.”

Hoping to put Saturday’s performance behind them, the Nationals head for Sunday's series finale before an off-day on Monday -- their first break since April 22.