Mostly because Martinez has no idea what he is going. With their bullpen issues, Max could have went one more inning.
Every team has injuries, being able to manage through them is one of the things that makes a great manager. People hated on Dusty Baker but the Nats had almost as many injuries last year and he managed through it. This year is a completely different story. Martinez is completely clueless. He wants to be liked by everyone instead of being respected. Worst hire by the Nats maybe ever and that is saying something since Matt Williams was a disaster.
Guess what, blew another one last night with another huge in-game payoff for the Cards after the 7th inning. The Nats have absolutely no bullpen right now. Rizzo is partly to blame for this as he traded Kinzler and then fired Kelley. While neither was anything special, he is regretting those decisions right now as the bullpen is a dumpster fire.
If they are winning by a manageable margin and the starter comes out, go in-game an bet against them. Nice payoffs last two nights.
Gio is going tonight and he rarely makes it past the 6th inning since he can not keep his pitch count down due to walks, so the bullpen will be needed again tonight!! My guess is Rizzo has been up all night trying to find some reinforcements.