…of the barrel, that is.

The sports world is agog at the re-emergence of perhaps the greatest baseball player to ever play the game, Shohei Ohtani.  Taking the mound for only the second time after his Tommy John surgery, Ohtani threw 18 pitches and recorded two strike outs against the Washington Nationals on June 22, 2025.

Shohei Ohtani throws one of 18 pitches, June 22, 2025 (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

What has gone largely unnoticed by all but the Washington Nationals fans is that Ohtani’s performance was less impressive than was the pitching of Nats’ starting pitcher, Michael Soroka.  During his five-plus innings on the mound, Soroka registered a career-high ten strikeouts and held the Dodgers to two hits.

Michael Soroka pitching against the Dodgers (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

While Soroka was on the mound, the Nationals managed to bring home three runs, and led the Dodgers (last year’s World Champions, and contenders again in 2025) to none. Before leaving the game, Soroka struck out Ohtani twice.

Then, as happens all too frequently with the Nats, the starter was replaced by the bullpen, and the whole thing unraveled. Soroka’s stuff disappeared in the sixth inning, and in came a parade of relievers, who, when the dust had cleared, had given up 11 runs.

When the score reached 13-3 (including Ohtani’s 5 RBI), Dave Roberts, manager of the Dodgers used an existing rule that states any team that is ahead ten runs or more, can use a utility player in place of a pitcher.  This is effectively a “mercy rule.” So, on came Enrique “Kiké” Hernández, a utility player who immediately surrendered four runs to the Nationals in the top of the ninth before he was replaced by an actual pitcher, who ended the game.  Final score: Dodgers 13, Nationals 7.  It wan’t that close.

This “Tale of Two Ballgames” underscores the most glaring problem the Washington team has faced all year:  The worst bullpen in baseball!  Let’s face it, the Nats have only one big bat on the team, and that is swung by rookie James Wood (although the Nats sit at number 14 on the home runs list).  Called up in July, 2024, Wood is in only his first full season, and has already shown himself to be a long-ball threat.  When the bats are swinging, the Nats can put up big numbers.  Sadly, that happens infrequently.

Fielding is also problematic.  The Nationals have been bringing up young talent in a frenzy, hoping new, young blood will solidify the defense.  Injuries and unfilled expectations have reduced the defense to being 26th out of 32 teams in the league.  The offense is hardly better, ranking 22nd.

There’s a long climb out of the bottom.