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Washington Nationals: Trea Turner stars in franchise record comeback win

By Blake Finney |
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 05: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals hits grand slam home run in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on July 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 05: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals hits grand slam home run in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on July 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

It looked bleak for the Washington Nationals as they trailed 9-0. Then a 14 run barrage, led by Trea Turner, ensued in what has to be a season turning point

In the middle of the fourth inning on Thursday night, the Washington Nationals trailed by nine runs. But a record comeback was to follow, spearheaded by Trea Turner who had a two homer, eight RBI performance. And the Nats came out on top 14-12.

Turner was one of the most vocal members of the team after the players-only meeting on Wednesday. Notably, he told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post that “It’s do or die now” and he sure treated it like it was.

The key moment in the game, and potentially the Nationals’ season, was Turner’s go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning. A moment worth watching again.

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For Trea Turner, a performance like this is only going to help his All-Star case. He’s second among National League shortstops in HRs, third in RBI and first in stolen bases. He’ll need to make it as a reserve behind Brandon Crawford, but he has a good chance of doing so.

For the Nationals, the key is now to carry this momentum onto the rest of the series. They’ve had two wins that seemed like turning points against the Philadelphia Phillies this year.

After each, they then slumped back to their old ways, and need to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Davey Martinez gets aggressive

Early on, it looked as if the story may be Davey Martinez and his decision to start Jeremy Hellickson in the game. But by the end, his aggressive management was a key factor in the crucial win.

Hellickson ended up lasting just three innings and looked sick as a parrot. He gave up nine runs, eight of which were earned, on nine hits and a walk. In hindsight, a huge mistake letting him start.

But Martinez made up for it with aggressive management, playing the game like a playoff game. He pinch hit for Pedro Severino in the sixth inning with a rally brewing for Mark Reynolds. He also had a quick hook on Justin Miller with a five-run lead in the eighth.

Hopefully, we see more of this from the Nats manager as he continues to learn at the helm.

Matt Adams resumes Big City things

In his first game since returning from the disabled list, Matt Adams went 4 for 5 on the night. He was a key part of the Nats comeback win, always being on base and scoring three of the runs.

It’s going to be a platoon between Adams and Reynolds at first base moving forward. This means we can expect to see Adams in the lineup more often than not. But if Reynolds keeps struggling, the towering left-handed hitter could win the starting job outright.

They sure missed him while he was out with a broken finger, as a thumping bat in the heart of the lineup. Now he’s ready to prove again what a valuable player he is to this team.

Next: Grading the Nats Bats

The key to the rest of the Washington Nationals season, is to build off of a huge win like this. Hopefully, Trea Turner won’t need any more rousing speeches this time.

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