With a scoreless, 14-pitch, 11-strike, 1-2-3 frame on Thursday in Atlanta, reliever Paolo Espino lowered his ERA on the year to 2.12 in 11 games, (one start), and 17 innings so far this season, over which he’s held opposing hitters to a .167/.194/.300 line, walking two and striking out a total of 12 batters.
“He’s done really well,” Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez said of Washington’s 34-year-old, journeyman pitcher, after the outing against the Braves.
Espino debuted in the majors for the Milwaukee Brewers (and then the Texas Rangers), as a 30-year-old back in 2017, but he didn’t pitch in the big leagues again until he got 2020’s 60-game season, when he got another opportunity with the Nationals.