Rogers fades late, Nats can't rally to beat Red Sox (updated)

It had been a while since Nationals Park experienced this kind of energy, provided by a crowd of 32,521 filled with fans with varied reasons to get amped up for the opener of the season's final series.

Some were excited to see Juan Soto's last charge for a batting title and possible MVP honor. They perhaps took solace in the four walks he drew - the last of them his 144th of the season, something only Barry Bonds had previously done this century - but that's not really what they came to watch.

Some were happy to watch Josh Rogers do his thing yet again, the left-hander carrying a shutout into the sixth and wowing everyone with energy, enthusiasm and a heads-up play in the field, before finally succumbing to back-to-back homers in his final inning of the season.

Some were thrilled to see Ryan Zimmerman step to the plate as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, representing the tying run, in the first of what should be many standing ovations for the potentially retiring Face of the Franchise. Only to be left disappointed when he struck out on a nasty slider from reliever Adam Ottavino.

And then there were those in attendance - and there were many of them, to be honest - who were here to see the Red Sox try to hang on and secure a berth in Tuesday's American League wild card game, a goal they moved a step closer to reaching with tonight's 4-2 victory on a picturesque early October evening in the nation's capital.

"The environment's awesome," Andrew Stevenson, who found himself in the middle of several of tonight's biggest moments, said in a postgame Zoom session with reporters. "There's just that buzz in the air. And it's getting a little cool. It's starting to feel like the playoffs again. It brings back some good memories."

The Nationals officially have nothing to play for this weekend, individual pursuits and pride-swelling upsets over a contender aside. The Red Sox have everything to play for over the next 72 hours, and they did just enough tonight to hold their position, tied with the late-playing Mariners, with two games left on the regular season schedule.

They did so by finally getting to Rogers late, then hanging on as the Nats tried to mount a rally from four runs down.

Rogers had been fantastic, way beyond what anyone could've expected when he arrived a month ago, through his first five starts. But it was also fair to question how much of his success was attributable to his performance and how much was attributable to the competition he faced (the Mets, Pirates, Reds and Marlins twice). Tonight, then, offered a much more serious challenge in the form of the Red Sox.

And for five innings, Rogers was more than up to the challenge. He rocked, kicked and fired his way through five scoreless frames, scattering three singles and three walks and making a nifty, heads-up play in the field to help his cause.

With a runner on first and nobody out in the fifth, Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez (forced to bat in a National League park) popped up his sacrifice bunt attempt right in front of the mound. Rogers, Josh Bell and Carter Kieboom all went after it, but then Rogers threw his arms out, yelled something and purposely let the ball fall to the ground before picking it up, throwing to second and starting an easy 1-6-4 double play that left the crowd roaring with pleasure.

"I was just trying to throw a fastball up in the zone, and hopefully he popped it up," Rogers said. "After I watched him pop the first one up (foul), I said I'm going to keep throwing the fastball up. And if he pops it up to me, I'll just check the runner at first. I saw he wasn't going anywhere. And (Rodriguez) hadn't moved out of the box. So I was like: We're going to let it drop and turn two. I was pumped to get that double play there."

It was the kind of high-energy play that has quickly endeared Rogers to his teammates, coaches and fans alike. And when you combine that with his actual performance in six starts, it's hard not to like what you see.

Rogers' evening - and season - did end on a sour note. He gave up back-to-back homers in the top of the fourth to Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec, turning a scoreless game into a 4-0 deficit. But even with that unfortunate blip at the very end, his totals across six starts - a 3.28 ERA, 1.290 WHIP and just shy of six innings averaged per appearance - are hard to dismiss.

Whether it's enough to guarantee Rogers a spot in the 2022 rotation is valid reason for debate. But it should at minimum be enough to put him in the mix for a job next spring.

"He's been awesome," manager Davey Martinez said. "He's been an unbelievable teammate. Fun to be around. Really enjoys doing what he does, and that's to pitch and compete. I couldn't ask for anything more. He got up here, and he worked hard to get back up to the big leagues. He showed us that he wants to be here. It's going to be a conversation this winter. He's going to come to spring training, and he's going to fight for a job."

Rogers emerged from all this with only two wins to his name, his performances squandered by a lack of run support or poor relief work behind him. Tonight, it was the former that did him in. The Nationals were shut out until the seventh, though they certainly had a couple of golden opportunities to convert off Rodriguez.

They loaded the bases in the fourth with nobody out, which should result in at least one, if not multiple, runs. Anyone who has watched this team all season knows that's typically not true. Jordy Mercer (starting at second base over Luis García) struck out. Kieboom, batting seventh, fouled out to the first baseman. And Stevenson (starting in left field after Yadiel Hernandez had a dental procedure earlier in the day) grounded out to second, with Enrique Hernández making a nifty play to just barely nab him at first.

So it was the Nationals saw their already worst-in-the-NL batting average with the bases loaded fall to an abysmal .202.

They only had two on with nobody out in the sixth for the same trio of hitters, this time facing reliever Ryan Brasier. The result remained the same. Mercer grounded out before both Kieboom and Stevenson struck out, killing that rally.

"Hat's off to that guy," Stevenson said. "He made some good pitches in some tough spots. I tried to put the ball in play, tried to drive it. And that's not always the case. Hopefully, the next time I get in that situation, I can come through."

At last, the Nats broke through in the seventh, getting a solo homer from Alcides Escobar into the left field bullpen. Mercer would add a solo shot in the eighth, trimming the deficit to two runs. But when Zimmerman (greeted with a standing ovation) struck out to end the eighth with Stevenson leading off second base, that chance disappeared. And when Keibert Ruiz sent a high fly ball to right with two on and two out in the ninth to end the game, the Red Sox moved one step closer to extending their season beyond the weekend.

"The crowd was awesome tonight," Rogers said. "I think there's a lot of Boston fans here, too. But it's awesome to be in that situation. It's just gaining experience. It's a playoff-type environment. Those guys are fighting for their lives over there. It's a good learning experience for me."