Alvarez’s Mixed Bag in Long Start | Washington Nationals News

**Corey** (0:00)
It's July 8th. This is Washington Nationals News Today, powered by AI Everything happening with your team. I'm Corey with the story. So, the Nationals pitcher, Andrew Alvarez, he got a chance to go deep into a game against the Astros. It was his longest outing yet in the big leagues, going five and two-thirds innings. He only gave up four hits and shut down their offense in a few of those innings, which is pretty solid for a rookie. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. Alvarez also let five runs score, which is a new career high for him. On top of that, he walked five batters, tying his personal best for walks in a game. So a real mixed bag of results out there on the mound.
This decision to let him pitch that long was a strategic move by the manager, Blake Butera, trying to give the bullpen a break.
It's tough when your relief pitches are worn out, so they were hoping Alvarez could eat up some innings and keep the runs down. The team is still figuring out how to manage their pitching staff, especially with the bullpen looking a little shaky. They're constantly looking for guys who can step up and give them solid innings, and this game was a test for Alvarez.
It's a learning process for young pitchers like Alvarez. He showed flashes of brilliance, but also some areas he needs to work on. The Nationals will be watching to see how he bounces back and continues to develop his game.