Tommy Milone starts for the Nats; Photo by Luis Albisu for TalkNats
What a good time for the Nationals to get a gem from Tommy Milone who out-pitched Mets ace Noah Syndergaard. The Nationals struck early and milked the lead behind Milone going 7.0 innings of one-run baseball with 9 strikeouts. The Nationals made the most of their 7-hits and 2-walks to produce 5-runs as the Nats had 4 stolen bases with Trea Turner swiping 2 more bags to lengthen his MLB best 28 SBs this season. Turner scored 3 of the Nats 5-runs and wreaked havoc causing Mets pitchers to throw more fastballs and make some mistakes. Turner also turned a Web Gem in the game to flash the leather. The big hit of the game was a 2-run home run from Anthony Rendon, and Bryce Harper was the only Nat with 2-hits in the game.
“I kept going and going until I found it,” Tommy Milone said. “Here I am now.”
The Nationals bullpen gave up 2-runs, but in closer Kelvin Herrera‘s defense he technically gave up a home run and the ball would not have gone over the fence until it bounced out of Juan Soto‘s glove and over the fence in the final scoring of the game.
“If you can throw strikes, he can be really good, ” manager Dave Martinez said of Milone.
With the Phillies idle, the Nationals moved up a 1/2 game to 5.0 games out of first place. The Nationals looked very good overall and have some momentum going into the 4-game Reds series which begins tomorrow.
“Going forward, we have a chance to do something special,” Martinez said.
In other news, this article should exonerate Brandon Kintzler of the supposed source of the “messy clubhouse” drama in a Jeff Passan article.
Read this NatsTown @funnydanny @granthpaulsen and anyone else who thought Passan's source was Kintzler. https://t.co/1jfajIkg8p
— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) August 1, 2018
