Mark Reynolds was the hero on Friday for the Washington Nationals, and on Saturday, he had a career day, driving in 10 runs while demolishing two long balls.
After hitting a big walk-off homer on Friday night, Washington Nationals first baseman Mark Reynolds had a huge night on Saturday. He hit two home runs and career-high 10 RBIs in an 18-4 demolition of the Miami Marlins.
Reynolds had only 14 RBI entering the game, and he nearly doubled it his historic night. He also went on to set some wider MLB records by driving in so many baserunners.
He became just the 15th player in MLB history to drive in at least ten runs, just over 14 months since Anthony Rendon did it against the New York Mets. Also according to Elias Sports Bureau, Reynolds and Trea Turner are the first ever teammates to have 8+ RBI games in the same week.
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In essence, Reynolds success in this game came from doing exactly what the Nats hadn’t done all season. Usually, the Nats had failed to come up with big innings by not following hits with more hits.
Whereas on Saturday, Reynolds always had baserunners in front of him to drive in, and he did so with aplomb.
Homers still an issue for Scherzer
Although the Nationals ran out comfortable winners, Max Scherzer‘s performance was less than ideal. He surrendered three long balls and struck out just three.
That’s now six of his last seven starts where he’s allowed two or more runs and seven homers in that span. But it just proves how spoiled Nats fans are that this is a moderate concern.
Even when he’s not at his peak, most teams would happily take someone pitching to a 3.00 ERA. But for someone of Scherzer’s standard, he’ll hope he can pitch better starting against the Mets on Thursday.
Severino goes yard again
Although the catcher position has largely been a black hole all season, Pedro Severino has now hit two bombs in the last five days. We’ve seen him swing the bat well in spells this season, so hopefully, this will get him started again.
Also, Matt Wieters played his first rehab game on Saturday and may be able to return before the All-Star break though. If he does, it would relegate Severino to the backup role he thrived in earlier this season.
With his defensive prowess, Severino is a perfect backup catcher but will need to improve on a horrid .171/.256/.254 line on the season. If he can keep hitting for power, then it’s sure to change in a hurry.
Next: Fold, stick or twist at the deadline?
The Washington Nationals will look to wrap up their first series sweep since June 6th. And this sweep would have huge magnitude as they look to claw their way back into playoff contention.