The Washington Nationals rested Victor Robles tonight and inserted Gerardo Parra into the lineup, and all he did was go 3-3 with 4 RBIs to lead the Nats along with Austin Voth who pitched 6.0 innings of two-run baseball. This was another night that the Nationals bullpen threw up zeros to make this 8-2 win a no-drama win.
This was the 91st win of the season for the Nats and their first six-game winning streak. Previously the team had three winning streaks of five games. With this win, the Nationals magic number to secure Home Field Advantage in the Wild Card is at 2. The Indians chances of making the postseason will end tonight if the Tampa Bay lead holds up in Toronto.
The Nationals got other key hits from Asdrubal Cabrera who entered in the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter and cranked a 2-run double, and Trea Turner smashed a 2-run home run. The last run of the game came from a Parra home run, and he just missed a grand slam but got a sacrifice fly for one RBI earlier in the game. Matt Adams had two infield hits in the game.
“I want to keep these guys motivated. I want to keep them going,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I want all these guys to get their at-bats. Just keep playing good baseball. They’re playing good baseball right now.”
There was also an added point by Martinez to discuss that his goal this weekend is to get his bench players going because they would be needed to produce in the postseason.
Now the Nationals will be watching the scoreboard to see what their old teammates (Daniel Murphy and Ian Desmond) can do against the Brewers tonight and the remainder of the weekend.
