Washington Nationals Reminded of Jacob deGrom's Dominance in Shutout

The Washington Nationals had no answers for Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom on Saturday, as they dropped a 5-0 contest to the Rangers at home.

The Texas righty dropped his ERA for the season to 2.12 with seven shutout innings as Nationals stars James Wood and C.J Abrams combined to go 0-for-8 with four strikeouts.

There is no shame in struggling to score against the most talented pitcher of this generation, but for Washington fans, the game was a harsh reminder of a difficult past against the Stetson alum.

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Once the longtime ace of the Nationals division rival New York Mets, deGrom has seen the club from the nation's capital more than most others in the Major Leagues.

Just as it did on Saturday, it has typically gone quite well for him, as he owned a 2.41 ERA in 22 appearances against the Nats.

In those games, he struck out 181 hitters while holding the team to a .202 batting average against in showdowns that at times became very memorable.

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In 2015, deGrom blanked the Nationals in the regular season finale before he went on to be a key figure in the team's run to the World Series, where it lost to the Kansas City Royals.

On September 3, 2019, with Washington needing every last win it could get to complete its improbable run from a dismal start to the regular season, the Nationals got to deGrom in a memorable eighth inning to hang four earned runs on him and ultimately secure a shocking 11-10 comeback win to improve to 78-59 and put the Mets firmly in their rear view mirror.

Just as previous generations of Nationals stars including players like Juan Soto, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon had to cut their teeth against the consummate ace, this young, talented group got a lesson on Saturday.

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Fortunately, this core will not have to see the righty as often as the old group did, but the Nationals still have their fair share of aces to face in this iteration of the NL East.

Washington will look to bounce back in a matinee on Sunday against a less traditional pitching approach, as Jacob Latz will start a bullpen game for Texas.

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