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Washington Nationals: Turner, Werth begin rehab assignment for Syracuse

By Ricky Keeler |
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals hits a RBI single in the eighth inning during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park on June 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals hits a RBI single in the eighth inning during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park on June 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Last night, the Washington Nationals Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, had many familiar faces in their game against Lehigh Valley

While the Washington Nationals were off last night, two of their Opening Day starters were working their way back on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse. Shortstop Trea Turner and left fielder Jayson Werth were both in the lineup for the Chiefs against Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia Phillies).

The Chiefs had a roster of many familiar faces to Washington Nationals fans last night. Rafael Bautista, who made his big league debut this season, was in the lineup for the Chiefs for the first time since May 23. Also, Erick Fedde got the start and reliever Enny Romero is on his rehab assignment.

Turner and Werth went up against Tom Eshelman, who was the starter for the International League in the Triple-A All-Star game last month. Werth did get a single in the first inning against the right-hander while Turner went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Both players were taken out in the bottom of the sixth.

As for Fedde, he had a good outing against a team that has 71 wins on the year. He went six innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out five, and walked one on 92 pitches (61 strikes) in a no-decision. Outside of Logan Moore’s three RBI’s, Fedde kept most of the IronPigs in check with eight groundouts.

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After Fedde left the game, it was Romero’s turn to come in for his third appearance since starting his rehab appearance. As Eric Gallanty (Syracuse’s play-by-play voice) tweeted during the game, Romero didn’t rely on his fastball, but still got the job done with three strikeouts:

Besides the notable players on the Chiefs roster, Clint Robinson did hit a home run last night (18th of the season) in the fourth inning. Three innings later, Syracuse tied the game at three thanks to a RBI single by Bautista and a sacrifice fly by Brandon Snyder.

For the second straight game, Syracuse had to go to extra innings, but the outcome was different compared to their win in 13 innings against Indianapolis Sunday. In the bottom of the 10th, Scott Kingery hit a walk-off single against Neil Ramirez to win the game, 4-3. Ramirez did not record an out in the four batters he faced.

One other name to keep an eye on the Chiefs roster from last night is Austin Adams. Yes, Adams had a rough major league debut last month against the Reds. However, he had four strikeouts in two perfect innings last night. However, in seven relief outings this month, the right-hander has 20 strikeouts to just four walks.

Eshelman was a tough opponent for Turner and Werth to face in their first live action since June. However, they don’t have to rush back to the lineup considering the Washington Nationals have a large lead in the NL East. When evaluating their progress, the only thing that matters is that they stay healthy.

Next: 5 storylines to watch in Houston

It won’t be long before Turner and Werth will be back in Washington D.C. wearing the curly W uniform. In the mean time, it’s just great to see them back playing in games again.

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