Advertisement

Jeremy Guthrie repeated the worst kind of history in return with Nationals

mark townsend
Yahoo Sports Contributor

The Washington Nationals learned something valuable during Saturday’s 17-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

If the team ever encounters any questions about its starting rotation, the answer should not be Jeremy Guthrie.

[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: It’s not too late to get in the game]

The veteran right-hander was called upon to make a spot start on Saturday, which also happened to be his 38th birthday. It was Guthrie’s first major-league start since 2015. Unfortunately, it might his last as well after he recorded just two outs and allowed 10 runs in Philadelphia’s team record 12-run first inning.

We’d usually say Guthrie joined some exclusive company with this outing. After all, only 11 pitchers in MLB history have allowed 10 or more runs in one or less innings pitched. The problem is Guthrie was already one of those 11, so now he’s the first to repeat it.

Guthrie allowed six hits and four walks before giving way to Enny Romero. The biggest blow being Howie Kendrick’s two-out bases-clearing triple. The Phillies would add two more against Romero, bringing their total to 12 without the benefit of a home run.

Jeremy Guthrie's return did not go according to plan. (AP)
Jeremy Guthrie’s return did not go according to plan. (AP)

There are a lot of really interesting or terrible numbers to come from this outing, depending on which side you’re supporting. If you’re a Nationals fan, we’d encourage you to shield your eyes.

Did you notice that each of the 15 batters did something productive with their at-bat? Either they reached base or drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, which is truly remarkable.

This marked the 7,645th game in Natioanls/Expos history. Guthrie has pitched in one of them and still managed this first.

Ouch.

By the way, Guthrie’s 2017 ERA sits at a cool 135.00.

Honestly, this one is painful. We know this night meant a lot to Guthrie and having it fall on his birthday probably felt like a pretty good omen. Unfortunately, there was nothing to celebrate from a baseball perspective, and that feeling came through in Guthrie’s postgame tweet.

As we mentioned, Guthrie was making a spot start on Saturday. Chances are this stint was going to be short-lived one way or the other, but the Nationals made that official on Sunday by designating him for assignment.

Guthrie’s not one to make excuses. When you can’t fool major-league hitters and your command is spotty, you’re going to get knocked around the ballpark. Unfortunately for him and for the Nationals, they didn’t see this one coming.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!