'It's awesome': Espino notches 1st career win

WASHINGTON -- When the Nationals needed a solid start on Wednesday, Paolo Espino was the latest to step up and deliver meaningful innings for the rotation that is shorthanded without Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

In doing so, Espino earned his first Major League win since being drafted in 2006.

“It’s awesome,” Espino, 34, said after the Nats’ 3-1 victory over the Pirates at Nationals Park, the club's season-high fourth in a row. “I’m happy with the opportunity that I’ve been given. I’m just taking advantage of everything that comes up.”

The veteran right-hander got the nod after Scherzer was placed on the 10-day injured list with groin inflammation on Tuesday (retroactive to Saturday) and was unavailable to make his scheduled start.

Approaching the game with a hitter-by-hitter mentality, Espino tossed a career-high five scoreless innings with three hits, no walks and two strikeouts over 53 pitches (39 strikes). He worked his way out of a one-out jam in the fourth with runners on second and third via a strikeout against Phillip Evans and groundout vs. Ben Gamel to go into the fifth unscathed. Espino wrapped his outing with a 1-2-3 inning.

“He continued to make his pitches, and he has a strategy on every hitter and he sticks to that,” manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s determined to get outs -- and get quick outs -- and he did that today.”

Espino improved to 1-2 with a 2.28 ERA on the season. He noted he has more trust in his stuff than he has in the past, and is focusing on his performance rather than on earning Major League callups.

“It took me so much to finally make it here, that I didn’t want to get sent back down,” Espino said. “Now, in my head, it’s more just go out there, have fun, do your best, give it 100% and whatever happens, happens.”

In recognition of Espino’s accomplishment, Martinez asked him to address the team following the game. It’s a special moment saved for big achievements in a player’s career, especially those 15 years in the making.

“I appreciate what he does,” Martinez said. “His job is never easy. He comes in, he keeps us in the game, he spot starts for us. He does a lot of different things, and he’s done really well at all of them.”

In spite of missing their Nos. 1 and 2 starting pitchers, the Nats concluded a stretch of seven games in six days -- including a doubleheader on Saturday -- with five wins (two vs. the Giants, and a three-game sweep of the Pirates). During that span, their starters posted a combined 0.75 ERA.

Among the standout starting pitching performances, Erick Fedde recorded seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings in his return from the COVID-19 IL on Saturday against San Francisco in Game 1 of the doubleheader; Joe Ross dominated with a nine-strikeout, eight-inning shutout vs. the Giants on Sunday, and Patrick Corbin nearly tossed a complete game Tuesday against the Pirates with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 frames.

The bullpen, which has been overtaxed at points this season, was able to stay fresh when needed -- key not only for the recent games, but as the Nationals look ahead to four games in three days against the Mets this weekend.

“They’re coming out, they’re pitching with conviction -- they really are -- and they’re throwing strikes,” Martinez said. “I tell them all the time: 'Our defense is good. You don’t have to strike everybody out. Get early outs, let them put the ball in play.' And they’ve done that.”