Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The Nationals scoreless drought ended, and it was like a flood of runs after that. Trea Turner led off the 6th inning with what looked like a home run and ruled a double off of the top of the leftfield wall. Turner eventually scored on a soft grounder by Juan Soto. The game really broke open in the 8th inning with bases loaded in a 2-0 game when Bryce Harper pinch-hit for the struggling Michael Taylor. Mets manager Mickey Callaway stuck with his struggling pitcher and Harper cleared the bases with a double for his 82-83-84th RBIs of the season. Nationals starter Jefry Rodriguez pitched a 2-hitter through 6 innings of shutout baseball. The only major downside in this game was an apparent foot/ankle/Achilles injury by Kelvin Herrera. Manager Dave Martinez said after the game that Herrera was getting an x-ray on his upper foot, but he would not elaborate on the injury.
Every Nats player except for Taylor played a big part in the offensive explosion, and Mark Reynolds batted twice in the 9th inning and had a grand slam and a hit by pitch. Adam Eaton had a 4-hit day as part of the 16-hit assault with 4 walks and one HBP.
The Nationals have now been involved in 4 straight shutouts and were victimized in 3 of those but came out on top today by a final score of 15-0. It is that feast and famine cycle the Nationals seem to flow between. In this turn through the rotation, Jefry Rodriguez out-pitched all of his teammates. One of the two hits he gave up was a bloop, and one was a lazy flyball that centerfielder Michael Taylor might have thought that Adam Eaton had and they played it into a single. That was it except for the 4-walks given up, but let us be real, these Mets are not exactly a good baseball team which makes the Friday night 3-0 loss, and the Saturday afternoon 3-0 loss a little more frustrating.
“I know these guys can hit, and I believe in them,” manager Dave Martinez said.
Today, the Nationals had some early chances to score and could not and then the floodgates opened up at the hands of Bryce Harper who came in as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning for Taylor and stayed in the game and collected 2 hits both in RISP spots.
