Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals got back into town from their road trip at about 6 a.m. Friday morning and had to play the Milwaukee Brewers 13 hours later. The Nats were out of synch. They committed two errors, the pitchers gave up 10 runs, the hitters didn’t contribute, and all of that added up to a 10-3 Nationals loss in the first game of the homestand.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Trea Turner got called up and made his Nationals debut. The crowd was excited and wanted to get a look at Turner on the field. Everyone got to see the speed that Turner brings to the game when he almost beat out a dinky ball he hit to short for a base hit. He was called out, and the call was upheld on appeal but it was very close.

Gio Gonzalez was pitching fine until he took a ball off his ankle hit by Jonathan Lucroy in the fifth inning. He stayed in the game, but gave up three runs after that, putting the Nats into a four run deficit from which they did not recover.

Max Scherzer got the opportunity to pinch hit, an opportunity for which apparently he has been lobbying. He made contact with the ball, but was thrown out at first. At least he didn’t strike out.

Next: The Good

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Good

Ian Desmond overall had a good game. He went 1 for 2 with a walk, stole a base, and scored a run. He also made two excellent plays in the field. One of the plays was on a ball deflected off Gio’s glove back behind the second base bag. Desmond bare handed the ball and threw a strike to get the runner at first. Definitely a highlight reel fielding play.

Bryce Harper hit a solo home run, his 31st of the year. Michael Taylor also hit a solo home run, another tape measure bomb into the red porch seats. Taylor almost hit another home run in the fifth inning. He hit the ball to the deepest part of center field, but it was caught at the fence.

Turner did not appear to be overwhelmed in the field in his debut. He turned a double play with Ryan Braun bearing down on him at second. He did not look overmatched at the plate. He made contact with the ball in both of his at bats. When Turner was promoted up the minor league ladder, he did not hit well in his first handful of games at the new level, and then turned into a hit machine. No one should panic if he follows the same pattern in this new promotion to the Majors. His speed means that he will be getting a lot of infield hits. He is potentially a lead off hitter with his speed and ability to make contact.

Next: The Bad

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

Yunel Escobar was injured in the top of the first inning trying to catch a foul ball. He hit the fence and face planted into the chest of a fan. It appeared he injured the back of his neck, and left the game. Anthony Rendon moved over to play third, and Danny Espinosa came in to play second.

The Nationals only managed six hits all night, and two of those hits were solo home runs. The team’s hitting woes continue.

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Jayson Werth got on base in the bottom of the third inning when Braun lost a fly ball in the lights. This was great because there was one out and if Rendon could avoid hitting into a double play, Harper would get to bat without a shift on and with at least one runner on base. Then Werth (or the bench) decided to try to steal second. Werth didn’t get a good lead or a good jump when he took off and was thrown out at second. Bad move. Werth’s legs aren’t what they used to be, he was probably tired from the late road trip return, and hasn’t had a chance to do much base running this year. Rendon made the third out of the inning.

Ryan Zimmerman came into the game to pinch hit in the bottom of the sixth and replace Clint Robinson at first base. At that time, Harper had homered and the Nats were down 5-2. Espinosa singled and stole second. The Nats had something cooking and needed hits. Zimmerman struck out looking at an pitch inside that was too close to take. The next batter, Desmond, struck out on a pitch up around his eyes to end the Nats’ threat. Momentum appeared to be swinging in the Nats direction, but those back to back strikeouts killed the rally.

Next: The Ugly