Dave Martinez has received some criticism from the national media for moves he didn't make. He didn't take Anibal Sanchez out int he bottom of the 4th in Game 3. He didn't take Patrick Corbin out earlier in the Game 4.
Corbin didn't have his best stuff and gave up 4 runs in 6 innings. Once Corbin was lifted, the roof caved in. Nats fans have witnessed this too many times this year to criticize Martinez for leaving the starters in.
It's no secret (except maybe for the national media) that the Nats' bullpen is horrendous. They had the worst bullpen int he league. The pen was so bad, Martinez had to run Sean Doolittle into the ground midway through the year and no one blamed him for it. Every time Martinez put in a pitcher, I said to myself, "Why is he putting this guy in?" At some point I realized I said that every time Martinez called for any reliever save (pun!) Doolittle. Daniel Hudson's arrive turned a bullpen of one into a bullpen of two.
Let's get this fiction out of the way. Tanner Rainey did NOT have a good year. His ERA was near 4 and only because he feasted on batters making vacation plans and triple A call ups late in the year. He pitched only 11 innings this season when a save was on the line and his ERA was closer to 5 in those outings. He blew 3 saves and didn't register one. He was mostly used in low pressure situations.
In Game 4, Rainey showed what happens when he pitches in a crucial situation. he choked and the Nats only have two guys, Doolittle and Hudson, who have a chance of getting them out of that situation. But why burn their arms in the 7th inning of a game you're down 4-0? Fernando Rodney gave up a grand slam to Alex Bregman just to hammer home the point that it would've been bad managing to take the starter out to play for one run in Game 3.
The problem in the 8-1 loss was the absence of the Nats' bats. They don't go quiet for three games in a row.
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