Nationals rookie pitcher Jackson Kent bounces back in win over Phillies

Join the dugout. Sign up here for Nationals updates in your inbox.

In an ideal world, Jackson Kent’s innings would look more like his fourth inning against the Phillies on Tuesday.

A two-pitch at-bat against Bryson Stott resulted in a groundout. Kent then struck out J.T. Realmuto on four pitches before ending the inning by striking out Derek Hill.

One inning, 11 pitches, three outs. Efficiency is the biggest issue Kent’s faced so far in his major-league career. In his last outing against the Padres, the rookie southpaw struggled with two-strike execution, which leads to high pitch counts and short outings. He allowed a .500 slugging percentage in two-strike counts against San Diego.

In Tuesday’s 6-3 win against the Phillies, Kent improved as the outing progressed and pitched at least five innings for the third time in his young career.

“It was better than the last one, for sure,” Kent said of Tuesday’s performance, in which he allowed three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

He kept the game close, allowing the Nationals offense to mount a rally in the seventh inning.

Back-to-back singles put runners on first and second, and Nasim Nuñez’s sacrifice bunt moved them over. Daylen Lile then entered the game as a pinch hitter and hammered a first-pitch changeup for a three-run bomb that gave the Nationals the lead.

In the minors, Kent developed a reputation for his command and ability to throw strikes. The added velocity on his fastball allowed his other pitches to be more effective, particularly his nasty changeup.

But Kent has struggled so far to replicate that in the majors, and it showed in his first time through the Phillies’ lineup. He walked All-Star slugger Kyle Schwarber on five pitches to open the game before recording back-to-back outs. Instead of ending the inning without the walk burning him, Kent walked Luis Arraez and allowed a line-drive RBI single to Alec Bohm on an 0-1 fastball near the heart of the zone. He rebounded and prevented further damage after getting Bryan De La Cruz called out on strikes.

The second inning was an improvement. Kent didn’t fall behind any of the three hitters he faced and recorded a 1-2-3 inning. He allowed a run in the third on an RBI double from Arraez, and a homer to Schwarber in the fifth.

“After that first inning, I thought he did a really good job of settling back in and getting us a pretty good outing against a really tough lineup,” manager Blake Butera said.

Pitching held the Nationals (71-81) back this season, preventing an explosive offense from having a full season of playoff contention. The organization is aware of its dearth of pitching talent, which played a role in the team’s deals sending out Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr. for an influx of young arms.

After flirting with a wild-card spot for much of the first half, the Nationals were eliminated on Sunday with the Padres’ win over the Giants. Even though there’s nothing to play for over the final 10 games of the season, the team is taking them seriously.

“I think they’re building some momentum towards 2027 and beyond that,” Butera said. “We can’t waste any games. These are all opportunities to improve, to get better, to make mistakes, to learn from mistakes. But just the way these guys are playing right now, it’s a lot to be excited about.”

Building momentum toward next season applies to Kent, too. The lefty hasn’t had the smoothest of rookie seasons, but he’s also faced some of the league’s most talented lineups in his first seven career starts, including the Cubs, Dodgers, Padres and Phillies. These are useful data points for Kent heading into the offseason as he evaluates what he has to improve.

The outing against the Padres showed Kent that he needed to be on the attack more. He runs into trouble when he’s throwing uncompetitive pitches. Against the Phillies, Kent confronted a veteran lineup that forces pitchers to be in the zone.

“They really don’t chase a lot, and they’re gonna make me work,” he said. “So that’s what they did, and just found a way to get through it.”

If Kent can solidify a place in the rotation, it would be a win for Washington’s player development operation. Homegrown pitching is a key ingredient for organizations that build sustainable winners.

For Kent, having success against a good team like the Phillies builds confidence.

“It’s just fuel going forward that, like, it’s going to work, and I just got to keep going at it,” he said.