Washington Nationals Reaction: Three Takeaways from Sunday’s Wild Win

Here are the three biggest takeaways from The Washington Nationals’ 16-Inning marathon win over the Twins

In one of the craziest games in Washington Nationals history that began with Bryce Harper on the bench, Matt den Dekker in the leadoff spot, and an opponent that had yet to lead once during the series, most fans probably weren’t expecting too exciting of a game. What happened instead was a wild affair that saw a pinch-hit, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth, several controversial replay challenges, and a walk-off that sent the diehard fans that remained at the ballpark throughout it all into a frenzy.

Stephen Strasburg struck out ten hitters in nearly eight innings of work, but allowed a three-run homer to Brian Dozier on his final pitch of the afternoon that probably would have marked the end of most teams’ chances of coming out of the ballgame with a win. The Washington Nationals had other plans, however, and thanks to a two-RBI double in the eighth by Wilson Ramos and the Harper home run in the ninth, they pushed the game into extra innings

Neither team was able to get much going offensively, as both bullpens were able to keep each other off the board until the 15th. The Twins were able to push a run across in the top half of the frame, but the Nats scraped across an unearned run with two outs to keep their hopes alive. An inning later, Chris Heisey sent both teams home with a walk-off homer that gave the Nats the sweep and a 14-4 record to start the season.

What stood out yesterday during the Nationals’ wild win? Here are my three takeaways:

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