Washington Nationals’ three-game win streak ends with 3-2 loss to Colorado Rockies

Adon vs COL:

Following a strong, though relatively brief, 4 ²⁄₃-inning outing against the Miami Marlins on the road in loanDepot park in which he gave up a run on five hits without walking a batter in an 82-pitch turn in the rotation, Joan Adon, 23, struggled when he went up against the Los Angeles Dodgers in what ended up a 10-1 loss for the Washington Nationals in the nation’s capital this past week.

Adon gave up seven hits, four walks, and six earned runs in 4 ²⁄₃ IP against the Dodgers in D.C., and he threw 92 pitches to the 25 batters he’d faced when manager Davey Martinez went to the bullpen.

“It’s a great lineup to face, and as the game progressed, it was hard a bit. I think it’s more of being consistent and trying to locate my pitches much better,” Adon explained, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman after his ninth start of the 2022 campaign.

Five days later, he was back on the mound in Nats Park for start No. 10.

Adon tossed two scoreless to start, on 21 pitches, as the Nationals jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but the Rockies tied it up in the third, with Colorado’s catcher Brian Serven reaching on an E:5, error by Maikel Franco on a grounder to third, and scoring on a Yonathan Daza single to center field, 1-1, and Daza took second on a throwing error by Victor Robles on an ill-advised throw home. Charlie Blackmon followed with an RBI single to center that drove Daza in from second, 2-1 Rockies. Both runs unearned.

A leadoff single by José Iglesias, a walk to Sam Hilliard in the next plate appearance, and a 2-out walk to Connor Joe loaded the bases with Rockies in the top of the fourth, and Daza stepped in next and grounded out to short for out No. 3...on a force/sick play a falling Dee Strange-Gordon made, bouncing a throw to second base.

An eight-pitch, 1-2-3 fifth left Adon at 71 pitches total, but the righty gave up back-to-back hits by Iglesias and Hilliard in the first two at-bats in the sixth, and third baseman Garrett Hampson bunted both runners over/gave up an out, then Adon struck Serven out on high 95 MPH heat for out No. 2, before Connor Joe K’d looking on a 97 MPH 3-2 fastball.

Joan Adon’s Line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks, 89 P, 62 S, 10/5 GO/FO.

Kuhl vs the Nationals:

After going (3-0) with a 1.90 ERA, a 3.69 FIP, seven walks, 17 strikeouts, and a .161/.227/.247 line against in four starts and 23 ²⁄₃ IP in the month of April, Chad Kuhl took the mound for the nightcap of today’s doubleheader with a 6.00 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 10 walks, 14 strikeouts, and a .307/.379/.520 line against in four starts and 18 IP in May, in which he was winless (0-2).

Last time out before tonight the 29-year-old right-hander held the Pittsburgh Pirates to a run on five hits and four walks in 4 ¹⁄₃ IP in which he threw 103 pitches.

“He was a little erratic obviously,” Rockies’ skipper Bud Black told reporters after a 2-1 loss to the Bucs, “but the positive is he made some pitches when he really needed to and got some huge outs.

“It’s really good to see when a pitcher is not on top of his game and wiggles out of it. He kept a cool head and didn’t rattle. I really liked the battle for Chad Kuhl.”

Kuhl almost battled his way around a leadoff double by César Hernández in the bottom of the first inning in the nightcap of today’s doubleheader in Nationals Park, but Nelson Cruz lined a two-out, opposite field double to right field to drive Hernández in and make it a 1-0 Nats’ lead after one. Double No. 4 for Cruz.

Kuhl held it there through two, and came out for the third with a 2-1 lead, and stranded a one-out double and walk, before retiring the side in the fourth to keep the Rockies’ 1-run advantage intact.

A quick, 14-pitch fifth, in which he worked around a leadoff single by Victor Robles, left him at 77 pitches overall, and he got two quick outs in the sixth, but Yadiel Hernández reached down for a 1-0 curve and hit a home run to right field to tie things up at 2-2 with his 4th this season.

Given a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh, Kuhl came back out in the bottom of the inning and gave up a leadoff double by Dee Strange-Gordon.

Kuhl got an out on a popped up bunt by Victor Robles, but the Rockies went to the pen at that point...

Chad Kuhl’s Line: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 Ks, 1 HR, 95 P, 63 S, 3/3 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Kyle Finnegan came on in a tie game in the seventh, and gave up back-to-back-to-back, 2-out singles, with C.J. Cron, Brendan Rodgers, and José Iglesias all coming through with an RBI single by Iglesias putting the Rockies back on top, 3-2.

Tyler Kinley came on with one out, Dee Strange-Gordon at second after a leadoff double, and the Rockies up by a run in the seventh. César Hernández K’d swinging for out No. 2, while Strange-Gordon stole third, but Keibert Ruiz lined out to end the threat.

Steve Cishek retired the Rockies in order in an eight-pitch top of the eighth.

Kinley got another inning of work in the eighth and he struck Juan Soto out to start the frame, but Nelson Cruz “doubled” on a pop to short-center in the next at-bat, when the Rockies lost it in the twilight sky. Two outs later, however, he was stranded at second.

Daniel Bard came on to close it out for the Rockies in the ninth, and retired the side in order.

Nationals now 17-31