WASHINGTON – They’re not saying “boooooo.” They’re saying “Dooooooo.”
During the ninth inning of Thursday night’s 3-2 comeback win over the Marlins, recently acquired closer Sean Doolittle was showered with a rousing chorus of “Doos” from the crowd in D.C. The reaction was a far cry from the first half of the season, when Nationals fans regularly rained boos down on the Washington bullpen, and with good reason.
Through the All-Star break, Dusty Baker’s beleaguered bullpen was the worst in baseball, pitching to a 5.20 ERA and causing the Nationals to lose six games in which they held a lead after eight innings, the most in the majors and two more times than all of last season.