Twice is nice for this Nats reliever

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Kyle Finnegan had been in this situation before. It is not uncommon for him to come off the mound and express his desire to return for another inning. That competitive drive, after all, is a key factor in late-game success.

But the vibe was different on Friday night. The right-hander’s fervent belief he could clinch the Nationals’ roller coaster win against the Phillies was unmistakable.

“There’s some days we’ll have a conversation and he’s not so sure, and I know he’s out,” said manager Dave Martinez. “He was not giving in about going back out there. It was beautiful.”

The Nationals had seen their early six-run lead slip away in the eighth inning. Finnegan was tabbed to replace Mason Thompson with runners on first and second with one out. He got Kyle Schwarber to ground into a force out, but Brandon Marsh scored on a throwing error by shortstop C.J. Abrams. Finnegan induced a pop up by Bryson Stott, recording the final two outs of the inning on 13 pitches.

With a low pitch count and an eagerness to quiet the heart of the Phillies' order, Finnegan made his case to pitch the ninth.

“That’s the first time I think they considered actually doing it,” Finnegan said with a smile. “I felt like I had some more in the tank. I knew that they were going to be protective because I had just thrown two innings in our last game, but I just said, ‘I feel good. I’ve got more in me. If you need it, I’m ready.’”

Two days earlier, Finnegan appeared in the seventh and eighth innings against the Dodgers. With a one-run lead, he was assessed a pitch timer violation in the seventh. He surrendered an automatic walk in a full count to Chris Taylor, who then stole second base and scored the tying run.

“A big thing for me [on Friday] was getting him back out there because of what happened in L.A., with the pitch count violation and the stolen base,” said Martinez. “He was really down after that game, so I wanted to get him out there. When he comes up to me like that and he’s adamant, I thought it would be a good moment for him. It worked out well.”

Finnegan set the tone in the ninth inning against the Phillies by striking out Bryce Harper on six pitches. After Finnegan gave up a double to Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner flew out to right field and J.T. Realmuto popped up to first base. Finnegan delivered the win on a total of 34 pitches.

“He went out there, he picked up his teammates,” Martinez said. “I saw the energy they had in that last inning just trying to get those three outs.”

In the four seasons since Finnegan made his Major League debut in 2020 at age 28, he has become a reliable reliever in high-leverage situations, including closer duties (33 career saves). Finnegan considers gaining the confidence of the team to pitch in these late-game moments as a result of the hard work he has put in with the Nationals.

“To be trusted to go back out there is awesome,” Finnegan said. “Those are some of those moments that you see other guys do -- he wanted it and they gave it to him and he went out there and got the job done. That’s the most important part, because if you go out there and you don’t get it done, it’s all for not. So when you say you can go back out, it’s kind of like a gut check moment.”