GDT 6/5/21 Washington Nationals (Ross, J) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Howard)

[bkox]

Poor Brogdon. Must have been his first ever interview after the game. He had no clue what to say.

[gmwannabe]

i forgot the game was early and our grandson had a game this afternoon. just catching up on the play by play now. i heard Krukker on the post game talking about Howard. only lasting 3 innings. was his velocity at the 96-98 that he had before shoulder problems? if not, maybe he never recovered from the weak shoulder. hopeful that he can, as he can give the starting five a shot in the arm. if not, when do we start worrying that he never comes back to what he was?
gm

[bkox]

was his velocity at the 96-98 that he had before shoulder problems?

Was htting 95 regularly in the first 2 innings. Peaked at 97 to Soto in the first. Once he hit the 3rd inning his velo dipped to 92-93

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Poor Brogdon. Must have been his first ever interview after the game. He had no clue what to say.

I didn't get to hear this, since I live outside of DC and have to listen to the Nationals broadcast for all Phillies-Nats games. Hopefully he'll get a chance to redeem himself behind the mike - as long as he doesn't lose command of his changeup like he did in one outing earlier this year, I think Brogdon is our most reliable reliever after Neris.

[gmwannabe]

Thanks B.

[Austinfan]

Suarez hasn't gained velocity from two years ago, 2 seamer 88-95, 4 seamer 92-95.

Difference is he's relying more on a 2 seamer/changeup combo, the 4 seamer has become a "show me" pitch, and the slider an afterthought. Probably needs to sharpen the slider to become a starter and go through a lineup 2-3 times.

[andyb]

I think Brogdon is our most reliable reliever after Neris.

That might be true, though I would also be a little cautious with him getting higher leverage situations all the time. He is a very different pitcher when he is 96-98 than when he is in the 94-95 range and one wonders with overuse whether we would see the latter more.

Nobody in our bullpen is really good enough beyond Neris to consistently have one of the top three roles consistently. Hopefully Girardi can mix and match the good arms to spread out the pressure situations more. I still have hope for Bradley to be more consistent even if we suspect the velocity will not return. A bullpen of Nerris, Alvarado, Coonrod, Brogdon, Bradley, and now Suarez is actually pretty good if 4 or 5 of them are pitching well at a time.