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Washington Nationals: Michael Taylor the unexpected hero

By Blake Finney

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 22: Michael A. Taylor #3 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with Sean Doolittle #62 and Bryce Harper #34 after hitting a game winning double in the bottom of the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Nationals Park on May 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 22: Michael A. Taylor #3 of the Washington Nationals celebrates with Sean Doolittle #62 and Bryce Harper #34 after hitting a game winning double in the bottom of the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Nationals Park on May 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Michael Taylor was the hero for the Washington Nationals in Tuesday’s win. He first gunned down the go-ahead run at home, then walked it off in the ninth.

After a lackluster offensive showing early on on Tuesday, the Washington Nationals got their hero in the form of Michael Taylor. First off, he threw out Jose Pirela as the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. Then finally he capped off the night with a walk-off hit in the ninth inning.

Taylor was stuck in a vicious 6 for 56 slump coming into this series. Now he now has three hits in the first two games against the San Diego Padres, and might be turning the corner.

He’s been hitting below the Mendoza line most of the season, currently sat at .190, and will need to continue hitting to keep his starting spot in the coming weeks. Especially with the return of Adam Eaton due within a few weeks.

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Despite the struggles with the bat, Michael Taylor has continued to play gold glove defense. This was highlighted by him showing off the cannon in center-field.

He needs to get back to his 2017 form, after being far away most of 2018 so far. But performances like the last two days are small steps on that path.

Bryce Harper is locking in

After hitting his 14th home run of the season on Monday, Bryce Harper followed that up with his 15th on Tuesday. He has now re-claimed sole possession of most home runs in the National League after Ozzie Albies tied him earlier in the night.

The Harper breakout is coming, he’s still hitting the ball hard, as only one of his batted balls in May was considered soft contact by FanGraphs. And with a BABIP still under .200 there’s plenty of hits still to fall in order to correct this.

He finally has some protection behind him in Anthony Rendon, Mark Reynolds and the newly promoted Juan Soto. Hopefully, with less pressure on him to be “the guy” on the team he can get the batting average and other statistics back up to their usual level.

Bullpen locks it down in middle innings

One of the achillies’ heels for the Nationals so far this season has been holding tied games or narrow deficits. And on Tuesday the bullpen came up huge, keeping the score at 1-1 before Taylor’s late heroics won the game.

Davey Martinez appeared to be willing to let starter Jeremy Hellickson go a little deeper for once. However, plans changed when Hellickson suffered a blister in the sixth inning. Wander Suero, Brandon Kintzler and Sean Doolittle then locked down the final three and third innings.

Suero was particularly impressive, needing just 21 pitches to retire five hitters, allowing just one hit. He allowed his first runs of the season in his last appearance, but had a strong bounce-back outing in this one. He’s one reliever the Nationals will need to use more often in these mid-leverage spots, to keep games close.

Next: Nats should bring Stammen home

The Washington Nationals secured the series win with a game to spare, thanks to Michael Taylor. Completing a sweep of the Padres would be huge for this team heading to Miami this Memorial Day weekend.

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