Alien gear and pencil bats: Nationals flash personality in slugfest loss against Phillies

This year’s Nationals aren’t winning many awards — or games — on the field. This weekend, they strove for style points while facing the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. 

Washington settled for a split of the four-game series after falling 11-9 in a slugfest on Sunday. But the Nationals still flashed their personalities through custom gloves, bats and cleats in the process. 

Now in its fifth season, MLB shines a spotlight on its athletes during the “Players Weekend” festivities. 

“It’s fun,” shortstop C.J. Abrams told MLB.com, showing off gear designed for his “Alien” nickname. “It adds a little bit to the game. Everybody’s kind of showing what they’ve got on the inside.”

For pitcher Jake Irvin, who confessed that he isn’t the creative type, it was easier to let somebody else handle the designs. This year, that duty fell to a child he met during a visit from the Children’s National Hospital.

“He did a great job,” Irvin said. “I said, ‘Dude, do what you want; this is your thing.’”

The result for Irvin was a set of Keith Haring-esque dancing figures on a bright background, accompanied by an outline of Minnesota, their shared home state. 

Irvin’s cleats were just one of dozens of customized collectibles scattered around Washington’s clubhouse. 

Abrams’ alien gear was among the most popular.

“The [bat] with all the alien heads on it, I told him not to use it because if he breaks it, I would be very mad,” outfielder Jacob Young told MLB.com. “I think he’s done a great job of incorporating that with everything. It’s fun to see all the stuff he does, and it brings a cool little pop with all the lime green and stuff.”

Outside of the apparel, the Nationals also shared trivia about their players on the video board during at-bats. Fans could look up to see batting averages alongside tidbits about players, like the fact that outfielder Dylan Crews loves “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Spectators also learned that catcher Drew Millas collects football and Pokémon cards and infielder Paul DeJong was a biochemistry and pre-med student at Illinois State University before devoting his career to baseball. 

The league’s embrace of its players isn’t seamless, though. Their customized gear isn’t fully vetted before it hits the field. 

On Friday, Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo had to play the bad guy when he pointed out to the umpires that Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm’s customized glove violated MLB rules. 

It included a dash of white, which is banned to ensure batters can track the ball without confusion.

The design on the leather had been customized by players from the Little League’s “Challenger” division, which embraces youth players with physical and developmental disabilities. 

Strahm had to replace the glove for the rest of his appearance. 

There were no such issues on Sunday, as the Nationals and Phillies used a combined 13 pitchers in a back-and-forth affair that featured two home runs hit by pencil bats. 

DeJong and Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm both sported lumber painted like classic No. 2 pencils as they smashed souvenirs into the stands.

DeJong’s ninth-inning homer led the second of a pair of Nationals rallies following a disastrous start by pitcher Mitchell Parker. Washington’s starter allowed six runs and recorded just five outs before Cairo ended his lackluster day. 

“Good things happen, bad things happen, it’s baseball,” Parker said. “Sometimes it goes your way. Sometimes it won’t.”

The first rally arrived in the third inning to wake up the crowd that trekked to Nationals Park for the 11:35 a.m. first pitch. Seven straight Nationals reached base, scoring six total runs thanks to a pair of singles from Abrams and Daylen Lile and a couple of doubles from Crews and Jose Tena. 

The Phillies pulled starting pitcher Aaron Nola after he allowed six runs from seven hits across 2 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and a walk. 

Philadelphia responded with scoring outbursts in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings to stretch the lead to five runs. 

Washington wouldn’t go away. 

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, DeJong smacked a three-run homer into the left-field stands to cut the lead to just two runs. Lile followed him with a bases-empty double. 

The late surge forced the Phillies to pull reliever Max Lazar. Philadelphia brought in closer Jhoan Duran, who the club acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline, to finish the game. 

He delivered. 

After a ground-out by outfielder Dylan Crews, Cairo called on slugger James Wood to pinch-hit. The All-Star was originally given the day off, but had a shot to tie the game with a runner on third and two outs. 

He couldn’t. Wood struck out swinging, ending the game. 

“They were battling,” Cairo said of his young lineup. “They were ready. [Wood] was ready to come out, but he just missed a couple pitches.”

A last-second loss like that doesn’t sting anymore, according to Cairo. 

“Sometimes, it’s going to go like that,” Cairo said. “It’s one of those games. It happens.”

The Nationals will stash their flashy custom gear during a day off on Monday. The New York Mets are coming to the District for a three-game series that starts on Tuesday. 

With the loss, the Nationals fell to 50-74 on the year. The Phillies (71-53) maintained their hold on the NL East with six weeks remaining in the season.