Nationals' Storen unblemished since demotion but record run ends
A demotion has not had any adverse effect on Washington Nationals reliever Drew storen, who has been nearly perfect since he was bumped from the closer's role.
Storen has yet to allow a hit in five appearances since closer Jonathan Papelbon was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies. His only hiccup came in Thursday's 8-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks - a two-out walk in the eighth inning.
That ended a string of 19 consecutive batters retired by Storen, a franchise record since the Nationals moved to Washington in 2005 and the longest streak in the majors this season.
Storen's move from closer to setup man was not results-oriented - he had converted 29 of 31 save chances before Washington made the deal for Papelbon, who stipulated he remain a closer before agreeing to a trade.
Dating to June 24, Storen has churned out 15 straight scoreless appearances while not surrendering a hit in 11 of those outings.
Via @stats_mlb, @DrewStoren's 19 straight batters retired is longest streak by a reliever this season & longest in #Nats history (2005-pres)
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 6, 2015
