The Washington Nationals won the finale of their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.
After losing the first two contests of that set, winning the final game could provide a boost for this young team as they get ready to take on the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves starting Monday. And in the midst of some major pitching issues, it was a welcome sight to see the Nationals throw a shutout.
A huge part of the success Washington’s pitching staff had on Sunday was due to Andrew Alvarez. The left-hander was recalled ahead of the finale, and after replacing Miles Mikolas, Alvarez impressed once again by throwing 4 1/3 scoreless innings. But the feel-good story was short-lived, as the Nationals announced they optioned him back to Triple-A Rochester following his outing.
Andrew Alvarez Gets Sent Back Down to Minors
Washington Nationals pitcher Andrew Alvarez | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
While this move might be confusing on the surface since he performed so well, it seems like the Nationals still view him as a starting pitcher. So by sending him back down to Rochester, that opens up a spot in their bullpen for a reliever ahead of their series against the Braves and gets Alvarez back on schedule as a starter.
Who Washington is aiming to callup isn’t clear at the time of writing. Paxton Schultz was optioned to Triple-A before the finale against San Francisco, and Alvarez was recalled as the corresponding move. Schultz could be brought back, but a fresher arm might also be used to begin the Atlanta set.
Despite the fact that he was sent back down, Alvarez should be feeling positive about everything. He once again performed well in a major league outing. And after coming out of the bullpen this time around, he has given the Nationals options for how they might use him going forward.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow