Nats bullpen collapses in devastating fashion a day after giving up walk-off grand slam

They say you can’t predict baseball, but “they” haven’t seen the 2018 Washington Nationals bullpen. A day after giving up a back-breaking walk-off grand slam, the team’s bullpen once again collapsed in epic fashion.

The Nationals bullpen suffers epic collapse a day after giving up a walk-off grand slam

The team’s struggles Monday began in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Nationals led the St. Louis Cardinals by two runs to start the frame.

That lead was cut to one quickly, as Jedd Gyorko hit a solo home run off Justin Miller to lead off the inning. Miller managed to pick up a strikeout, but then gave up a single to Kolten Wong. He was then pulled from the game.

Sammy Solis came in after Miller and gave up a single to Patrick Wisdom. With two men on, Solis then gave up a go-ahead three-run homer to Matt Carpenter. The Nationals gave up four runs in the inning. They trailed 6-4 heading into the ninth.

Nationals rally in the ninth inning

The Nationals offense wouldn’t go down without a fight, though. Anthony Rendon singled and Juan Soto walked to put two men on. A Daniel Murphy single brought in Rendon from second. Matt Wieters then hit a game-tying single.

With men on second and third, the Nationals couldn’t get the go-ahead run across the plate. The game would go to the bottom of the ninth tied.

Nationals bullpen blows it for good in the bottom of the ninth

It took the Nationals bullpen five pitches before the game was over. Paul DeJong hit a home run off Koda Glover on a 3-1 count to win the game 7-6. The Nationals’ bullpen gave up five runs in the final two innings.

After the game, even manager Davey Martinez was defeated.

Nationals bullpen collapsed for the second straight day

The team’s struggles came the day after Chicago Cubs rookie David Bote broke the Nationals’ heart with a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning. The Cubs trailed by three runs heading into the ninth, but managed to load the bases against Ryan Madson.

Bote then entered the game as a pinch-hitter, and smacked a game-winning grand slam to give the Cubs a one-run win.

Which Nationals loss was more heartbreaking?

We hate to do it, Nats fans, but we have to ask: Which loss was worse? The walk-off grand slam, or the repeated bullpen failures from Monday? The grand slam may have been more memorable and historic, but Monday’s loss may have been even more emotionally draining.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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