Driven by table-setter Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals had another offensive explosion. This win wrapped up their first series victory for two weeks.
Bryce Harper continued to justify his new best friend and manager Davey Martinez’s decision to bat him atop the order. The Washington Nationals right-fielder was the spark plug again in a blowout 9-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Despite the run the Pirates scored in the top of the first frame, Harper came right back at the them. He launched a 2-2 Ivan Nova changeup into the second deck in right-center-field.
The long-ball was the first of his three hits on the night, and raised his RBI total to 25 in the process. That’s good enough for second in the National League, behind Yoenis Cespedes‘ 26 RBI.
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Expect to see a lot more of Bryce Harper in the leadoff spot over the next few games. It’s clearly working a treat for this team with 21 runs in just two games.
Stephen Strasburg racks up the whiffs
Despite getting off to a rough start in the first inning by giving up an RBI to Corey Dickerson, the long time Nat settled in and missed several bats.
He struck out 11 hitters, reminiscent of his famous MLB Debut against the very same team. He had four of those strikeouts on a changeup that was downright dirty on Wednesday night.
But key to the bigger picture, he matched his fellow rotation members this series by pitching seven innings. This will keep the key members of the bullpen well rested, and fresh for the closer games that are bound to make a return soon.
Matt Adams hits third homer of the series
Another day, another Matt Adams home run. Nothing new here. Filling in at first base for Ryan Zimmerman, he continues to make a bid for even more regular playing time.
His sixth bomb of the year barely crept out in left field, but they all count just the same. Including Wednesday’s 2 for 3 performance, he’s hitting an impressive .346 against right-handed pitchers so far this season. With a split like that he should continue to see action, either in left field or first base, against righties for the foreseeable future.
Next: Stats, streaks and milestones!
The Washington Nationals will look for a potential four-game sweep and get back up to .500 on Thursday against the Pirates. Jeremy Hellickson squares off against Twitter extraordinaire Trevor Williams at 1:05pm.