As the Washington Nationals slowly rose from the depths of their 19-31 start, there was a sense of cautious optimism among fans. The wins were piling up, but the team still had one glaring weakness that threatened to strike at the most crucial points in games: the bullpen.
The ugly 5.68 ERA that ranked second-worst in the league led to an NL-high 29 blown saves for the Nationals’ relief corps, spoiling potential victories into repeated, utter disappointment. But amidst that mess, there was one rock that manager Davey Martinez used as often as he could to avoid turning to literally anyone else.