Washington Nationals Reaction: Offense On Fire In The Desert
The Washington Nationals offense scored double-digit runs for the second straight game in last night’s win over the Diamondbacks
Even with Bryce Harper out of the lineup last night because of an illness, the Washington Nationals offense still put up ten runs in a win over the Diamondbacks. In their two games played in Phoenix, the Nats have scored 24 runs and six different players have two RBI’s or more.
Last night, the Washington Nationals hit three home runs to help break a 2-2 tie against Robbie Ray. In the fifth, Wilson Ramos and Chris Heisey went back-to-back to give the Nats their first lead.
Two innings later, Jayson Werth hit a solo home run that went off the left field wall and into the bullpen. With his three hits last night, his on-base streak is up to 35 games, which is one shy of the Major League high for this season.
While Tanner Roark wasn’t dominant last night, in his start, he still continued to be consistent and had another quality start as he picked up his 11th win of the season. With the win last night and a Marlins loss in Chicago, the Washington Nationals lead in the NL East is up to six games.
Before the Washington Nationals go for the sweep this afternoon with Max Scherzer on the mound against Zack Godley (3:40 p.m ET, MASN), check out my three takeaways from last night’s 10-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field:
Next: Difo Steps Up At 2nd Base
Difo Steps Up At Second Base
Due to Harper being out of the lineup last night, Chris Heisey (originally starting in center field) had to go to right field. With Trea Turner having to move over to center, that meant Wilmer Difo would get the start at second base.
Difo got the call up to the Major Leagues last week when Stephen Drew was placed on the disabled list because of illness. Early on in last night’s game, Difo was able to drive in a critical run in the fourth inning.
With two runners on and two outs, Difo hit a 1-0 fastball from Ray into center field for a base hit that drove in Anthony Rendon (doubled to lead off the inning) and tied the game at two.In last night’s win, Difo went 3-for-5 and he now has five hits, three runs scored, and three RBI’s in the four games he has played in since being called up to the big leagues.
While Difo hasn’t played a game at triple-A Syracuse this season, he had a strong month of July at double-A Harrisburg. He hit .337 in 21 games with two home runs and 12 RBI’s after hitting only .241 in June.
Even with Drew on the DL for the time being, the depth of the bench continues to be a positive for the Washington Nationals this season. Heisey also stepped up in his start last night with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Once again, the depth that Dusty Baker has on his 25-man roster continues to show up on a daily basis.
Next: Roark Gets Out Of Early Jam
Roark Gets Out Of Early Jam
For the second time in his last three starts, Roark gave up two home runs, but unlike his start against the Padres on July 22, he was able to get the win last night. He went 6.1 innings, gave up three runs on seven hits, struck out six, and walked two on 103 pitches (68 strikes) in the win.
Like Strasburg the night prior, Roark got himself into early trouble in the first when Arizona’s top of the lineup loaded the bases with no outs via two singles and a walk. Roark did give up a run, but it was only one run due to a 4-6-3 double play by Jake Lamb.
If you are going to give up home runs, at least let them be solo home runs. Both of the home runs against Roark were solo shots last night. One came in the second inning by Yasmany Tomas and the other came in the sixth by Lamb.The problem for the Arizona offense was that they struggled to get the big hits with men in scoring position (3-for-14).
After giving up a Chris Owings double in the bottom of the seventh, Roark was pulled two batters later for Blake Treinen, who got the final two batters out in the inning, By going 6.1 innings last night, Roark is now fourth in the National League in innings pitched this season (143).
With the win last night, Roark is now 8-2 over the course of his last 12 starts. Despite giving up four home runs since the All-Star Break, teams are hitting only .213 against the Washington Nationals right-hander.
Next: Ramos Ties Career High
Ramos Ties Career High
The All-Star season for Wilson Ramos continued last night with his clutch hit in the top of the fifth against Ray. With the score tied at two, Ramos took a low 1-2 slider from Ray and crushed it over the wall in left field for a three-run home run.
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With that home run last night, the Washington Nationals catcher tied a career-high for home runs in a season (2013). Ramos is 5-for-11 in this series with three runs scored, a home run, and five RBI’s.
Since the All-Star Break, Ramos is hitting .338 with three home runs and 11 RBI’s. His 22 hits over that period are tied for fifth in the National League and is the highest on the Washington Nationals (Trea Turner is second with 20).
Over this season, we have seen many stats that point out Ramos’ impressive season. Another stat that goes overlooked is that the catcher is hitting .341 on the road with eight home runs and 33 RBI’s. His 63 road hits are tied for ninth in the National League.
Next: District Daily: Harper Scratched With Illness
With the great season Ramos has had, he has established himself as one of the best, if not the best offensive catcher in baseball.
In addition, he is making a strong case to be in the MVP consideration along with his teammate, Daniel Murphy (2-for-5, two RBI’s last night) considering the two of them have been the team’s most consistent hitters all season long. Today, Ramos gets the afternoon off as Pedro Severino will be behind the plate to catch Max Scherzer.