MONDAY, AUGUST 5 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU D5
hamstring strain. But Suero re-
mains part of their plans, one of
many high-leverage options, a
pitcher they need to be consistent
for the stretch run.
He had been pitching well and
was well rested for a change, yet
he didn’t have command of his
cutter, the pitch he throws more
than 70 percent of the time. He
can’t be effective without it. And
so he wasn’t, and the Nationals
were pushed into another hole,
and they headed to San Francisco
frustrated, beaten up by injuries
and with a bullpen that’s still —
still — trying to figure it all out.
“They’d faced me before,” Sue-
ro said through a team interpret-
er. “So I think they were zoned in
on the cutter.”
[email protected]Suero’s latest struggle. He hit the
first batter he faced despite an 0-2
count — he was trying to surprise
Tim Locastro with a front-door
cutter — then yielded a single to
Marte. He got two outs to steady
himself and set up an escape
route before Jones whacked a
single to the opposite field that
put Arizona back on top.
Suero soon walked to the dug-
out with his eyes fixed on the
Chase Field turf, his shoulders
slumped a bit, his 53rd appear-
ance having gone all wrong. The
Nationals shuffled their bullpen
by adding Hudson, Hunter
Strickland and left-hander
Roenis Elías, who is now on the
10-day injured list with a rightExcerpted from
washingtonpost.com/nationals
Elías, Kendrick hit IL,
further thinning roster
The Washington Nationals made
a flurry of m oves ahead of their
series finale with the Arizona
Diamondbacks on S unday.
Reliever Roenis Elías w ent t o the
10-day injured list with a right
hamstring s train. Utility man
Howie Kendrick w ent to the 1 0-
day IL w ith a left h amstring
strain. Reliever Javy Guerra,
designated f or assignment t his
past Wednesday, w as added to the
40- and 25-man r oster in Elías’s
place. And outfielder Andrew
Stevenson w as recalled f rom
Class AA Harrisburg for
Kendrick.
This is not the most banged-up
the Nationals have been this
season. T here was a stretch in
April and May when they were
without Ryan Z immerman, Matt
Adams, Anthony Rendon, Trea
Turner, Juan Soto a nd a couple of
relievers. But t he active roster i s
certainly t hinned, w ith Max
Scherzer s till out with lingering
shoulder issues, Zimmerman
back on the I L with plantar
fasciitis in his right foot and Elías
and Kendrick on t he shelf f or the
foreseeable future.
Their rotation this w eek in San
Francisco is Erick Fedde on
Monday, A níbal Sánchez on
Tuesday and Joe R oss o n
Wednesday. S cherzer could have
been activated Monday but w as
still building up strength at C hase
Field on Sunday. He has yet to
throw off a mound since he f aced
the C olorado R ockies on July 2 5.
Kendrick, p laced on t he IL
retroactive t o Thursday, can be
activated Aug. 11 at t he earliest.
He b egan the s eason on the I L
with a left h amstring strain h e
suffered i n spring t raining.
Kendrick was scratched from a
start Friday when hamstring pain
flared u p during his pregame jog
in the outfield. Without Kendrick
and Z immerman, Manager D ave
Martinez will h ave to lean o n
Adams a s his everyday f irst
baseman. R ecalling Stevenson
gives Martinez another left-
handed option off the bench a nd
an extra outfielder w hen Gerardo
Parra has t o moonlight a t first.
Elías can’t r eturn until Aug. 14.
He p layed c atch in right field
before first pitch Sunday.
“It’s a mild strain. I talked to
him t oday. He s aid he felt better.
He d oesn’t think it will take l ong,”
Martinez said o f Elías.
The Elías injury is most
troubling because of how it
occurred. The left-hander,
acquired before the trade deadline
Wednesday, h it for himself in the
Nationals’ 3-0 w in Friday night.
Martinez instructed him multiple
times not to swing, but instincts
took over and Elías did anyway.
Then he hit a chopper over the
mound, sprinted t oward first and
wound up grabbing his right
hamstring a step away f rom first
base. An MRI exam revealed the
strain. And that only continued a
roller-coaster week for Guerra.
The 33-year-old r ight-hander
was d esignated f or assignment by
the Nationals to make room f or
the t hree relievers they added at
the d eadline. He w as then p laced
in a three-day waiver p eriod, in
which a ny t eam could have a dded
him, but c leared Friday. He had
two options at t hat point —
become a free agent or accept a
minor league assignment from
Washington — and Guerra chose
to stay w ith t he o rganization t hat
added him i n May.
— Jesse Dougherty
Adams scored on a passed ball.
Martinez faced a tricky deci-
sion after the Diamondbacks
loaded the bases again with an
intentional walk. Corbin was due
up after throwing only 70 pitches,
and Martinez could have inserted
a pinch hitter to try to break the
game open. He i nstead stuck with
Corbin, who grounded into a for-
ceout, gave up another run-scor-
ing double to Jones in the bottom
half and exited with one out and
runners on the corners.
To summarize, Martinez trad-
ed a critical out during a rally for,
well, a Diamondbacks run, one
more out from Corbin and a jam
for new reliever Daniel Hudson.
It didn’t seem like a fair deal in
hindsight. It c ertainly wasn’t h ow
the manager calculated it. But
Hudson navigated his way out of
trouble, stranding two runners in
scoring position and giving the
Nationals another chance in a
tight game.
“His pitch count was down,
and I liked him; he started set-
tling down a little bit,” Martinez
said of why he let Corbin hit. “The
reason why we’re playing well is
because our starters have done
well.”
The Nationals knotted the
score again with a quick rally in
the seventh, but that only led toWednesday. His ERA, shaved
down by 9^1 / 3 scoreless innings
leading into this one, shot up to
4.80. The Nationals, in turn, have
lost seven of their past 10 games.
Maybe the best part of their
weekend in Arizona is that they
don’t have to come back.
“We’ll get it back together,”
Manager Dave Martinez said,
firmly, when asked how the Na-
tionals can end this recent slide.
“We will.”
Corbin breezed through his
first inning back in the desert,
needing just nine pitches, before
the Diamondbacks disrupted the
reunion. Corbin had been domi-
nant in his previous eight starts,
posting a 1.76 ERA and 65 strike-
outs in 51 innings. He had not
allowed more than three runs in
any of those outings. But the
Diamondbacks were able to take
him out of his weeks-long
rhythm, just as they did with
Stephen Strasburg in the second
game of the series Saturday night.
It started with Corbin walking
Christian Walker to lead off the
second. Then Jones ripped an RBI
double, Corbin walked Wilmer
Flores, and Nick Ahmed brought
home two more runs with a dou-
ble of his own. The Nationals had
grabbed an early lead on Gerardo
Parra’s two-run homer in the top
half of the inning. And then it was
gone, like a breeze in a heat wave,
and Marte stretched the lead with
an inside-the-park home run in
the next inning.
“I wish it went better today,”
Corbin said of returning to where
he spent the first six seasons of
his major league career. “Just
kind of never got in a rhythm out
there. They had some good at-
bats.”
After Corbin settled in for a bit,
pitching two scoreless innings,
the Nationals were able to work
back into the game. Brian Dozier
helped with a solo home run in
the fourth. They evened the score
in the sixth, against the Diamond-
backs’ shaky bullpen, when Matt
Adams singled with two outs,
Dozier singled, Parra walked andNATIONALS FROM D1Corbin, Suero don’t deliver in the desert
BY MARK MASKEAs Tom Brady prepares to play
the upcoming season for the New
England Patriots at age 42, the
six-time Super Bowl-winning
quarterback already is readying
for the possibility — or perhaps
the inevitability — of playing the
2020 season and beyond.
Brady agreed to a two-year
contract extension with the Patri-
ots that runs through the 2021
season, according to multiple
people familiar with the situa-
tion. The new deal increases Bra-
dy’s 2 019 income by about $8 mil-
lion, to $23 million. It adds two
additional seasons at prospective
salaries of $30 million in 2020
and $32 million in 2021, accord-
ing to the league-owned NFL
Network.
That makes the extension po-
tentially worth $70 million, al-
though adjustments are possible
along the way as Brady and the
Patriots operate on what amounts
to a year-by-year basis.
“We’re all day-to-day if you
think about it,” Brady said last
week when asked about his con-
tract during his meeting with
reporters at the Patriots’ training
camp. “None of us are really
promised anything. I’m trying to
do the best I can do today and just
let those things sort themselves
out.”
The Patriots had no immediate
comment.
Brady’s deal had been set to
expire following the 2019 season,
after which he would have been
eligible for unrestricted free
agency. But Brady, agent Don Yee
and the Patriots made certain it
did not come to that.
Brady’s contract now runs
through a season in which he will
be 44. Continuing to play effec-
tively as an NFL quarterback so
far into his 40s would be unprec-
edented. But Brady already has
amassed a record number of
Super Bowl wins after entering
the league as an unheralded
sixth-round draft choice in 2000.
The end of the Patriots’ dynasty
clearly is in sight, with Brady
turning 42 on Saturday and
Coach Bill Belichick turning 67
earlier this year. But even after so
much speculation in recent years
that tensions among Brady,
Belichick and owner Robert Kraft
would lead to a breakup, the
group remains intact as the Patri-
ots chase yet more on-field glory.
“I’ve had such a great experi-
ence over a lot of years,” Brady
said last week. “I appreciate this
team and the opportunity it gave
me in 2000. I play for a great
coach in Coach Belichick, and
Josh [McDaniels, the Patriots’ of-
fensive coordinator,] and I have a
great working relationship. I love
Mr. Kraft and his family. We’ve
had just incredible success.
Hopefully we can keep it going.”
When he was asked last week
whether he had earned a new
contract, Brady said: “I don't
know. That's up for talk show
debate. What do you guys think?
Should we take a poll? Ta lk to
Mr. Kraft. Come on. No, like I said,
we’ve got a great relationship, so
we’ll see how it goes.”
The Brady of last season was
not quite the league MVP version
of 2017. He threw for 4,355 yards
with 29 touchdowns and 11 inter-
ceptions, compiling a passer rat-
ing of 97.7. But he and the Patriots
returned to the top of the football
world with their Super Bowl vic-
tory over the Los Angeles Rams in
February in Atlanta.
This season, Brady must deal
with the absence of tight end Rob
Gronkowski, who announced his
retirement in March. There has
been speculation that Gronkows-
ki might return at s ome point. But
if he doesn’t, Brady will have to
get by without the pass-catching
tight end who has served as his
security blanket since Gronkows-
ki’s rookie season of 2010.
“To replace great players, it’s
not like you just pick another one
off the tight end tree,” Brady said
last week. “You can’t just go out
back. You’ve got to find guys that
come in and want to put the work
in and want to try and contrib-
ute.”
[email protected]Brady gets
extension
from Patriots
through 2021
NATIONALS ON DECKat San Francisco GiantsToday9:45MASN2
Tomorrow 9:45 MASN2Wednesday3:45 MASN2at New York MetsFr iday7:10MASNSaturday7:10 MASN
Sunday1:10 MASNvs. Cincinnati RedsAug. 12 7:05 MASN2
Aug. 13 7:05 MASN2Aug. 14 4:05 MASN2Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM)BY JON MEOLIbaltimore — There won’t be
much to cut for the season-high-
light tape from the Baltimore Ori-
oles’ 6-5 win Sunday over the To-
ronto Blue Jays, but it was enough
to salvage a series split before an
announced 18,837 at Camden
Yards.
Consider the sources o f the Ori-
oles’ offense: a sun-field pop-up in
the first inning; a two-out, run-
scoring error followed by a two-
run double by Trey Mancini in the
second inning; a nd a pair of bases-
loaded walks by Class AA call-up
Yennsy D iaz in the f ifth inning.
“We pieced it together and
found a way,” Baltimore Manager
Brandon Hyde said.
Around a ll that, the Orioles (38-
73) g ot five innings from To m Esh-
elman after an adventurous first
inning from opener Jimmy Yaca-
bonis. Eshelman allowed a run on
three hits to begin the second in-
ning and d idn’t r ecord an out u ntil
his 20th pitch. He cruised after
that and pitched well enough to
earn his first career win before
being chased by a pair of home
runs in the s eventh.
He s aid he would remember the
home runs more than anything
else but v alued his first victory and
all that came w ith it.
“It was one of those ones where
everything was working for me,”
Eshelman said. “The first couple
of innings, some b leeders came in,
and they capitalized on them. But
to be able to get it with this group
of guys i s really special.”
Dillon Tate allowed a third run
in the seventh, b ut Branden Kline,
Richard Bleier and Shawn Arm-
strong kept the Orioles ahead the
rest of the way. Armstrong earned
his fourth save as Baltimore im-
proved to 17-38 at h ome.
Neither side had anywhere to
go but up after a forgettable first
inning. The Blue Jays loaded the
bases against Yacabonis and
grounded into a force at home
before left fielder Anthony San-
tander caught a flyball and alertly
threw t o third base to get a tagging
Cavan Biggio for the third out of a
scoreless inning.
It w as as good a play by Santand-
er as it was a bad one b y Biggio.The Orioles similarly ran into
the t hird out o f the first inning but
only after Toronto lost a Jace Pe-
terson p op-up in t he s un to allow a
run to score before easily throw-
ing Peterson o ut at s econd b ase.
Santander’s every move in left
field was cheered by a group of
4,000 scouts from Great Britain
who took in the game after this
week’s World Scout Jamboree in
West Virginia. As the game wore
on, the group grew louder in their
support for Santander, who urged
on the cheering and rewarded
them with several baseballs over
the c ourse o f the g ame.
The Orioles added to their col-
lection of major league records
last week by becoming the first
team to hit two or more h ome runs
in 10 straight games and the in-
verse streak that began during
that one reached record-setting
levels Sunday.
Back-to-back homers by Blue
Jays Bo Bichette and Biggio made
it nine straight games that the
Orioles have allowed two or more
home runs, t ying the m ajor l eague
record. Three teams have accom-
plished that before them, most
recently the 2016 Houston A stros.
— B altimore S unBaltimore pieces together a victory as Eshelman posts first win
ORIOLES 6,
BLUE JAYS 5NATIONALS NOTESGREG FIUME/GETTY IMAGES
Outfielders Anthony Santander, left, Trey Mancini and Stevie
Wilkerson jump for joy after Baltimore’s victory over Toronto.CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES
Nationals starter Patrick Corbin struggled against his former team, allowing five earned runs in 51 / 3 innings before being removed.TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Tom Brady, 42, will make
$85 million if he plays for the
Patriots the next three seasons.Diamondbacks 7, Nationals 5
WASHINGTON AB RHBI BB SO AVG
Turner ss........................512 000.288
Eaton rf ..........................400 001.276
Rendon 3b ......................401 100.316
Soto lf ............................400 011.284
Adams 1b .......................321 011.244
Dozier 2b ........................412 101.242
Parra cf ..........................312 210.245
Gomes c.........................300 011.207
Corbin p..........................300 000.068
Hudson p........................000 000---
Suero p...........................000 000.000
Stevenson ph .................101 000.333
Strickland p....................000 000---
TOTALS 34 59 445 —
ARIZONA AB RHBI BB SO AVG
Locastro lf-cf .................410 002.253
Marte cf-2b ....................423 100.319
Escobar 3b......................400 000.279
Walker 1b.......................322 011.257
Jones rf ..........................413 401.270
Flores 2b ........................210 010.273
Hirano p.........................000 000---
Lamb ph .........................100 000.231
Bradley p........................000 000.000
Ahmed ss .......................301 210.265
C.Kelly c.........................400 001.263
Clarke p..........................200 002.273
Chafin p..........................000 000---
Lopez p...........................000 000---
Peralta ph-lf...................100 010.282
TOTALS 32 79 747 —
WASHINGTON.............. 020 101 100 —5 90
ARIZONA ...................... 031 001 20X —7 91
E: Clarke (2). LOB: Washington 8, Arizona 6. 2B: Jones
2 (23), Ahmed (24). HR: Parra (6), off Clarke; Dozier
(16), off Clarke; Marte (24), off Corbin. RBI: Rendon
(85), Dozier (40), Parra 2 (33), Marte (66), Jones 4
(51), Ahmed 2 (55). SB: Marte (6), Ahmed (7). S: Eaton.
DP: Washington 1 (Turner, Dozier, Adams); Arizona 1
(Walker).
WASHINGTON IP HRER BB SO NP ERA
Corbin........................ 5.1 75535 87 3.43
Hudson...................... 0.2 0000192 .94
Suero ........................... 122201 21 4.80
Strickland .................... 100010 17 5.06
ARIZONA IP HRER BB SO NP ERA
Clarke........................ 5.2 43313 73 5.46
Chafin .......................... 01110034 .66
Lopez ........................ 0.1 10020 12 2.70
Hirano ......................... 121112 21 4.32
Bradley ........................ 210000 28 4.01
WP: Hirano (4-5); LP: Suero (3-6); S: Bradley (2).
Chafin pitched to 1 batter in the 6th.
Inherited runners-scored: Hudson 2-0, Lopez 1-1. HBP:
Clarke (Rendon), Suero (Locastro). WP: Corbin. PB:
C.Kelly (2). T: 3:02. A: 2 2,976 (48,519).HOW THEY SCORED
NATIONALS SECOND
Matt Adams walks. Brian Dozier lines out. Gerardo Par-
ra homers, Matt Adams scores. Yan Gomes flies out.
Patrick Corbin grounds out.
Nationals 2, Diamondbacks 0
DIAMONDBACKS SECOND
Christian Walker walks. Adam Jones doubles, Christian
Walker scores. Wilmer Flores walks. On Patrick Corb-
in’s wild pitch, Wilmer Flores to second. Adam Jones to
third. Nick Ahmed doubles, Wilmer Flores scores, Adam
Jones scores. Carson Kelly grounds out. Taylor Clarke
strikes out swinging. Tim Locastro strikes out swing-
ing.
Diamondbacks 3, Nationals 2
DIAMONDBACKS THIRD
Ketel Marte homers. Eduardo Escobar flies out. Chris-
tian Walker singles. Adam Jones called out on strikes.
Wilmer Flores flies out.
Diamondbacks 4, Nationals 2
NATIONALS FOURTH
Juan Soto strikes out swinging. Matt Adams flies out.
Brian Dozier homers. Gerardo Parra singles. Yan Gomes
strikes out swinging.
Diamondbacks 4, Nationals 3
NATIONALS SIXTH
Anthony Rendon pops out. Juan Soto flies out. Matt
Adams singles. Brian Dozier singles. Matt Adams to
second. Gerardo Parra walks. Brian Dozier to second.
Matt Adams to third. On Carson Kelly’s passed ball, Ge-
rardo Parra to second, Brian Dozier to third, Matt Ad-
ams scores. Yan Gomes is intentionally walked. Patrick
Corbin reaches on a fielder’s choice. Yan Gomes out at
second.
Nationals 4, Diamondbacks 4
DIAMONDBACKS SIXTH
Christian Walker singles. Adam Jones doubles, Chris-
tian Walker scores. Wilmer Flores grounds out. Adam
Jones to third. Nick Ahmed walks. Carson Kelly strikes
out swinging. David Peralta pinch-hitting for Yoan Lo-
pez. With David Peralta batting, Nick Ahmed steals
second. David Peralta grounds out.
Diamondbacks 5, Nationals 4
NATIONALS SEVENTH
Trea Turner singles. Adam Eaton out on a sacrifice bunt
to shallow infield, Eduardo Escobar to Christian Walk-
er. Trea Turner to second. Anthony Rendon singles,
Trea Turner scores. Juan Soto walks. Anthony Rendon
to second. Matt Adams strikes out swinging. Brian
Dozier strikes out swinging.
Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 5
DIAMONDBACKS SEVENTH
Tim Locastro hit by pitch. Ketel Marte singles. Tim Lo-
castro to second. Eduardo Escobar flies out. Tim Locas-
tro to third. Christian Walker strikes out swinging.
With Adam Jones batting, Ketel Marte steals second.
Adam Jones singles, Ketel Marte scores, Tim Locastro
scores. Jake Lamb pinch-hitting for Yoshihisa Hirano.
Jake Lamb grounds out.
Diamondbacks 7, Nationals 5