Photo by TalkNats staff photographer Sol Tucker
The Nationals dominated this game in a 6-0 win behind Austin Voth and the bullpen’s 1-hitter and a 2-run home run by Trea Turner and a 3-run jack from Matt Wieters. This game pushed the Nationals to within a 1/2 game of the Phillies for second place.
“It felt good,” Trea Turner said. “I want to be consistent. I made the pitchers work…We want to win. We have a lot of pride.”
In this game, Trea Turner stole his 41st base which tied him for the most steals in Nationals history with 122 thefts and that tied him with former-Nat Ian Desmond. Turner also scored two runs to bring him to 99 runs on the season. In addition, Turner’s home run brought him within two dingers of reaching the 20 HR Club which would also put him into the prestigious 20/40 Club with those 40+ steals.
“Voth was really good,” manager Dave Martinez said. “We wanted to keep him around 75 pitches and get him his first win. When he’s on, he can throw his breaker for strikes and his cutter. He was really really crisp.”
Rookie Austin Voth took Tanner Roark‘s place in the rotation today and he threw a very nice 5-inning shutout giving up only 1-hit, and that hit was an infield hit against the shift. The bullpen shutdown the Mets in the final 4-innings of the game to combine for a team 1-hitter.
In this game, Anthony Rendon’s double extended his on-base streak to 30 games. Bryce Harper drove in his 98th RBI, and Trea Turner scored his 99th run of the season. After the game, manager Davey Martinez acknowledged that several Nats are going for personal milestones which could change who sits out games.
With the Cardinals win earlier today, the Nationals were officially eliminated from the post-season which comes as no surprise to many who did not see this team back in July as a contender. Being out of the playoff hunt, the Nationals will be in a better draft position and should choose 14th to 17th most likely.
Trea Turner's day: 2 run HR, double, walk, Web Gem. 22-game on-base streak and ties Nationals all-time record with 122 steals.
— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) September 22, 2018
