Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Nats Strand 13 In Loss To Reds
By Ricky Keeler
May 29, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds left fielder Marlon Byrd (9) is safe at home under Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) in the sixth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Ramos Starting To Climb Back To Form?
On a night where the Nationals kept hitting the ball on the ground against DeSclafani, let’s give credit to Wilson Ramos who got some good swings in this one. After grounding out to third base in the second, the Nats catcher led off the fifth inning with a double to deep center field. While he would end up being thrown out at the plate on a Span ground out to first later in the inning, he was one of the at-bats where the Nats put the ball in the air against the former Marlin pitcher.
On the night, DeSclafani had 11 ground ball outs, which tied a season high (April 20). One inning later, Ramos would drive in Ryan Zimmerman with a base hit up the middle that gave the Nats a 2-1 lead.
Before that double in the fifth inning, Ramos was 1-for-his last 22 at the plate. While his hitting has cooled down since his 19-game hit streak was snapped on May 20 against the Yankees. Maybe, a 2-for-5 performance can spark Ramos in the right direction.
As for his fielding, one of the things he has to work on is fielding the short hop on throws to the plate. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Michael Taylor made a great throw to the plate on the fly ball by Brandon Phillips, but Ramos could not field it cleanly to tag Marlon Byrd. While he has been great at throwing out runners this season, he needs to work on fielding throws at the plate from his outfielders.