Nationals' Gus Varland: Settles for hold Friday
Varland walked one and struck out one without being charged with a win in two-thirds of an inning Friday, recording his fifth hold of the season in a 3-2 win over the Orioles.
The right-hander was put in a bit of a tough spot, being brought in with nobody out and two runners on in the ninth inning to protect a 3-0 lead. Varland allowed one inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly, but he was lifted for matchup purposes before notching the save, as manager Blake Butera had southpaw Richard Lovelady face Gunnar Henderson instead, a move that nearly backfired. Varland remains the top high-leverage option in the bullpen for Washington and leads the team in both holds and saves (four), but his 4.32 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB through 16.2 innings highlights how much that's due to a lack of viable competition rather than his own performance.
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