Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 5-1 Win Vs. Pirates

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Jul 3, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa (8) hits a single against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Espinosa Plays Big Role In Win

One of the surprises of the first half of the season was Espinosa being second on the team in home runs. While he didn’t go deep last night, he made some good plays in the field and was aggressive on the bases that helped lead to a win.

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It started in the fourth inning when Espinosa made a couple of good backhanded stops to take hits away from Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen. Espinosa’s defense has clearly been a positive on a team that is one of the best in the league, in terms of defense.

In the seventh, Espinosa drew a walk and went to third on the Robinson single. Then, on a sacrifice bunt by Strasburg, Espinosa waited for Feliz to make the throw to first before going home and he ended up sliding in safely to put the Nats in front, 2-1.

Now, you could blame Feliz a little bit on that play for trying not to get Espinosa in a rundown situation. But, at that same time, Espinosa’s aggressive baserunning ended up leading to the go-ahead run in a four run seventh inning.

Next: Strasburg Stays Unbeaten As Nats Top Pirates

Last night, the Washington Nationals did a good job in making the Pirates pay for their defensive mistakes. That usually doesn’t happen when you consider Pittsburgh is tied with the Giants for the fourth fewest errors in the NL.

So, even though Espinosa did not hit one out of the yard, he made an impact on the game with his glove and his baserunning that ended up leading to another Washington Nationals victory.

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