After an exhilarating 2012 season that saw Washington win the National League East and bring postseason baseball back to the nation’s capital, the Nationals have fallen back to Earth. The Nats are mired in a miserable stretch since the All-Star break and needed a Ryan Zimmerman walkoff Friday night to win their second game out of the last nine. Blame can be spread around equally — the Nats have scored more than two runs in a game just twice since the break and have allowed four or more runs in six of nine — but don’t try telling that to relief pitcher Drew Storen’s dad, radio host Mark Patrick.
Drew Storen is not having a good year (which is not to say he is not a good pitcher; he had 43 saves in 2011). In 42 1/3 innings pitched, he has allowed 31 runs — 28 earned — good for an ERA of 5.95 (well above his career mark of 3.59). In each of his last two appearances, Wednesday against the Pirates and Friday against the Mets (though Storen was playing while suffering from the flu), he allowed three earned runs. Monday, Storen bungled a play at the plate after throwing a wild pitch, allowing Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez to score from third. The run was charged to Ian Krol, who made way for Storen with runners on second and third. The Nationals would make a late-game charge, but ended up losing by a run 6-5. When Nationals beat writers tried to make an observation about Storen’s play, his dad was quick to respond.
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