The Washington Nationals just lengthened their lead in the NL East as the first 5 batters in the Nationals batting order fattened their stats, and Trea Turner finished a triple shy of another cycle. Bryce Harper was a perfect 4-for-4 with a walk, and Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy have stayed hot.
The Nationals’ 7 game winning streak ended on Monday, and a new streak could have started with 2 in a row. Tomorrow’s afternoon game will determine if this 4-game series was won by the Nats or split as they are up 2-1 now.
Tanner Roark threw 104 pitches over 5 innings. He struggled in a 41-pitch 5th inning and Dusty Baker let him keep pitching even after three straight walks which led to 2 runs scored.
With the Astros loss tonight, the Nationals own the best record in baseball as they improve to 15-6 on the season. The Nationals have also bested their record from a year ago when they were 14-7 after 21 games played.
“I love speed,” Dusty Baker said. “Speed that can hit is really speed. Speed that can’t hit is just speed. I like to hit first then show you speed.”
