To say that the Washington Nationals bullpen is “beat up” would be underselling the situation.
Coming into a stretch of 14 games against teams in playoff spots, the Nats were still fresh off losing two of their better relievers to the Injured List as Daniel Hudson and Kyle Finnegan landed there with right elbow inflammation and a left hamstring strain, respectively.
Then on Tuesday, the team announced that Tanner Rainey was placed on the 10-day IL with a stress reaction in his right tibia, knocking them down another high-leverage arm at the end of games.