The Washington Nationals welcomed the Stanley Cup winning Washington Capitals to Nats Park on Saturday. The Nats put on a show for the Caps with a 7-5 win.
In their first public appearance since Thursday’s Stanley Cup win, the Washington Capitals came to visit the Washington Nationals. And the Nats bats channeled their hockey brother’s success and came out on top in a 7-5 victory.
Caps star Alex Ovechkin threw out the first, although he needed two attempt to do so! The first attempt was air-mailed before he demanded a mulligan.
Now it’s time for the Nationals to channel the energy that the nation’s capital has been feeling since Thursday. Saturday was a great start, as the offense continues to roll of late. It was the third straight game where they’d scored five or more runs.
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The Washington Capitals were known for not getting to the conference championship before this year. Now the Washington Nationals will hope to replicate their championship come October time.
Adam Eaton barely skips a beat
The Nationals were grateful to get one of their offensive spark plugs back in Adam Eaton on Saturday. He went 1 for 4, with a hit by pitch and two runs scored.
Somewhat bizarrely though, he started in right-field with Bryce Harper getting the nod in center. Eaton had been getting reps in left and center during his rehab assignment. Also Harper hadn’t played center consistently since his rookie year in 2012.
Don’t expect this to be a theme moving forward, and likely just a way to ease Eaton back into regular major league game time. He did look comfortable, although cautious when hustling home on his first inning run. But expect him to ride the pine Sunday, against a lefty in Derek Holland.
Brandon Kintzler exits with forearm injury
With the Giants attempting to rally in the eighth inning, Brandon Kintzler allowed a couple of base-runners before leaving the game. Sean Doolittle would escape the jam preventing any damage, but there’s concern around Kintzler.
Kintzler left with forearm tightness. MRI tomorrow.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) June 9, 2018
After the game, Davey Martinez revealed that the Nats’ reliever suffered forearm tightness, and would receive an MRI tomorrow. Forearm tightness is difficult to predict the severity of without the MRI, but Kintzler is likely to hit the DL regardless.
The right-hander will be a huge miss, as he’s been one of the Nats best relievers this season. Before this series, he had only allowed earned runs in two of his previous 25 outings. The Nats will now have to replace him, perhaps with Tim Collins or Justin Miller.
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The Washington Nationals now look for a series win against the Giants on Sunday. It will be Max Scherzer who takes the ball against Derek Holland. Scherzer will be even more fired up after seeing the Capitals at the game on Saturday.