District On Deck
FanSided

Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: Nats Unable To Dig Out Of Early Hole Vs. Padres

By Ricky Keeler

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Escobar Swinging 3-0 Decides The Game

Yunel Escobar has had a good season for the Nationals in his first season playing in the Nation’s Capital. However, last night was one of those nights he would rather forget.

Earlier in the game, Escobar made his fifth error of the season on a throwing error in the third inning. His lowlight of the night wouldn’t come until four innings later. He came to bat against Marc Rzepczynski with runners at the corners and one out after Bryce Harper’s two-run single got the Nats within a run.

In the at-bat, Escobar stayed patient and worked the count to 3-0. Then, he did something uncharacteristic of his game and swung at the next pitch. He ended up grounding into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game. After the game, Williams addressed the situation:

Zuckerman had another tweet after the game about the success Nats’ hitters had last night when putting a 3-0 pitch in play:

However, coming into last night’s at-bat, that stat did not apply to Escobar. He had eight walks in a 3-0 count and had not put a pitch in-play. Plus, you have Ryan Zimmerman hitting behind you, who has been one of the Nats’ best run producers this month and had driven in the first two runs of the game.

Once Escobar grounded out, that took all the momentum out of the building as the final six batters of the games went down in order. Another interesting stat to bring up regarding the Nationals in late game situations is that they are 3-50 when trailing after seven innings. While it looked to be a good pitch to hit, Escobar should have taken ball four and kept the line moving and the momentum going.

Next: Recap: Nats Comeback Falls Short, Lose Ground In NL East

More from District on Deck

 

Home/Nationals News