Washington Nationals Rapid Reactions: Trea Turner Shows Glimpse Of Nats Future

By Ricky Keeler |

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Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the 2015 Washington Nationals season being a complete and utter disappointment, there is still one silver lining to watch over the final five games of the season. Yes, you can watch more Bryce Harper as he tries to win the National League batting title, but it is a chance to take a look at the Nats future.

Even in a 2-1 loss to the Braves last night, infielder Trea Turner gets a chance to be in the lineup and get some Major League experience as he could be the team’s starting shortstop next year. Last night, Turner made some personal history as he hit his first big league home run in the sixth inning against Matt Wisler.

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Turner was one of the few positives of last night’s loss, along with Tanner Roark’s good performance. While Roark did give up a couple of solo home runs to A.J. Pierzynski, he was able to pitch into the seventh inning as he tries to make a case to be in the rotation next year. Finally, Harper made more history as he broke Ken Singleton’s record for the most walks (124) by an Expos/Nationals player in a single season.

The problem for Matt Williams’ squad was the lack of hitting with runners in scoring position. On a day where Ryan Zimmerman was shut down for the rest of the season because of an oblique injury, the offense was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

Before Jordan Zimmermann takes on Williams Perez tonight at Turner Field (7:10 PM ET, MASN), check out my takeaways from last night’s loss in Atlanta:

Next: Turner Provides Lone Nats Run

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Turner Provides Lone Nats Run

Last night, Williams put Turner in the number two spot in the batting order for the second straight game. In his last two games, the 22-year-old infielder is 3-for-6 with a run scored, a home run, and RBI. He was 2-for-3 last night with the home run mentioned earlier.

Coming into that at-bat in the top of the sixth, Turner already had a hit against Matt Wisler when he singled to center in the first inning. However, the Nats were not having much success against Wisler as he only allowed one extra-base hit in those first five innings (Ian Desmond leadoff double in the second).

Then, in the top of the sixth, Turner swung at a first pitch fastball and hit it over the wall in left field for a solo home run to tie the game. When you look at Turner’s game, power is not the first thing that comes to mind, but it’s an added bonus when you consider he has made good plays on defense, whether it’s at shortstop or second base like last night, and he has blazing speed on the bases.

Two innings later, Turner stayed patient against former Nats’ pitcher Edwin Jackson and worked a five-pitch walk. Yes, Turner hasn’t had many starts since being called up on August 21, but he does have a .393 on-base percentage in 23 games. While these last five games won’t be what defines Turner going into next season, it gives the Nationals organization and its fans a glimpse into a player who can play a key role down the line.

Next: Roark Shows Progress In Loss

Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Roark Makes Two Mistakes, But Shows Progress

It’s been a difficult season for Tanner Roark as he has had to go back-and-forth from the bullpen to the starting rotation. Coming into last night’s start against the Braves, Roark had failed to make it past the fifth inning in any of his prior four outings.

However, that changed last night as the 28-year-old right-hander went 6.2 innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out four, and walked one on 104 pitches in a loss. Although he only threw 12 first pitch strikes to the 25 batters he faced, 64 of his 104 total pitches were strikes. Plus, he induced 11 groundball outs, which was the highest groundball out total Roark has had since June 28 of this season against the Phillies.

The only two mistakes the right-hander made were against Atlanta’s catcher, A.J. Pierzynski. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Roark left a 1-1 curveball out over the plate and Pierzynski took advantage of the mistake by hitting a solo shot to center field. Then, two innings later, Pierzynski worked an eight-pitch at-bat that ended in hitting a fastball over the wall in right center for a solo shot.

Even in a down year offensively for Pierzynski, the veteran catcher has three of his 11 home runs against Washington and has driven in 14 runs to go with a .302 batting average. Coming into last night’s game, he only had one home run in his last 175 at-bats. Home runs have been a problem for Roark all season as he has given up a season high 17 homers this year.

Despite getting the loss last night, Roark can take away a lot of confidence from this game in that he went deep into the game and held the opponent to two runs. If last night was any indication, Roark made a good impression on the organization in one of his final outings of the year, even in defeat.

Next: Nats Offense Can't Get A Bunt Down

Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Nats Offense Still Can’t Get the Bunt Down

Even though the offense struggled for most of the night against Wisler, they still had their chance to win the game in the top of the ninth inning. With closer Arodys Vizcaino in the game, the Nats got off to good start when Jayson Werth and Clint Robinson led off the inning with back-to-back singles. That sent up Ian Desmond to the plate in what appeared to be a sacrifice bunt situation.

This season, the Nats have 54 sacrifice bunts, which is tied for fourth in the National League and Desmond has the most of any player on the team that isn’t a pitcher (six). But, in that situation last night, Desmond bunted it right in front of the catcher and did not get out of the box immediately. That allowed Pierzynski to turn a rare 2-5-3 double play.

Then, Matt den Dekker, who had a game-tying RBI single against Vizcaino at Nats Park on September 4 had a chance to tie it with Michael Taylor (pinch-running for Robinson) at second. But, Vizcaino threw him all sliders during that at-bat and struck him out swinging to end the game.

As mentioned earlier, the Nats were 0-for-9 last night with runners in scoring position. Wisler has been better in his last couple of starts, but he had come into last night’s game with a 7.62 ERA in four outings against Washington. For most of the season, the Nats just haven’t been able to lay down a bunt in a big spot and last night was no exception.

Next: Turner Hits First Home Run In 2-1 Loss To Braves

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