With a couple of uneven starts from their stalwart pitchers, but clutch at-bats from Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals’ 2017 season does not lack for excitement.
Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper bats during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Tenally)
Throughout the whole campaign, the Nationals have found ways to win—and lose—games in seemingly every different fashion imaginable. A key example was their June 19 matchup against the Marlins in Miami. The Nationals surrendered a six-run lead when Tanner Roark gave up six runs in the third, and failed to make it through that inning en route to a 8-7 walk-off defeat. The right-hander has an ERA of 7.94 in his past three starts, a concern thanks to the bullpen woes throughout the season. In the second game of the three-game series, Gio Gonzalez (7-1) delivered another solid starting performance, allowing three runs in seven innings while striking out eight in a 12-3 thrashing. Bryce Harper started the scoring with a two-run single that extended his hitting streak to 13 games, while Daniel Murphy had two RBI and hit his 12th homer.
In the rubber match, Max Scherzer continued his dominance and carried a no-hit bid into the 8th inning, but the Nats nonetheless found a way to lose the game, 2-1. The no-hit bid was lost on an infield hit that ricocheted off Scherzer’s glove. After that, the team imploded; the hit was followed by an error by backup first baseman Adam Lind, who bobbled a low throw, and Scherzer hit a batter to load the bases with two outs. Scherzer threw a wild pitch that scored the tying run, and Marlins star slugger Giancarlo Stanton lined an RBI single—the Marlins’ only other hit—to put them ahead for good.
Back home for a series against the Cincinnati Reds, game one saw Stephen Strasburg struggle early as the Nationals put themselves in an early hole. But Washington used the long ball and an unlikely component—their bullpen—to pull out a satisfying 6-5 victory in 10 innings. It was like the baseball gods remembered the earlier loss in Miami and decided the Nats deserved a win in the very same fashion, making Bryce Harper the hero with a walk-off single. The major key of the comeback victory was the play of Brian Goodwin, who has recently been given a everyday plan and used it to his advantage, delivering two homers, the second being the tying run.
Game two displayed the potent Nationals offense we have all become accustomed to. Michael Taylor homered twice among his four hits, Trea Turner finished 5-of-5 with a walk, and the Nationals beat the Reds 18-3 in the matinee. Washington led 13-0 as Joe Ross (4-3) blanked the Reds until Patrick Kivlehan’s pinch-hit home run in the sixth.
As the calendar turns to summer, the upcoming week brings the World Champion Chicago Cubs to Nationals Park for a four-game set. A hotly-anticipated series at the season’s start, the Cubs seem to have turned things around after a slow start. They present a huge test as the Nationals try to develop a winning formula that can be sustained for the duration of the season.
