Minor League veteran comes through for the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies needed extra innings to settle their matchup this afternoon. With little offense showing up in this game, a pleasant surprise loomed over Washington in the 10th inning.
Former Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar lead off the the 10th inning with a double to right field. A couple of batters later, Escobar scored on a wild pitch to put the Nats on top. With two down and none on, a player by the name of Clint Robinson came through.
The outfielder was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 25th round of the 2007 amateur draft. He did not make a plate appearance until 2012, and has participated in 16 games in his career while recording just 18 career at-bats.
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He made his 18th career plate-appearance for the Washington Nationals earlier this afternoon, and hit a double to deep right center field. Starting catcher Wilson Ramos followed the double with an RBI-single to shallow center, adding on some insurance for Washington. That “extra run” proved to be the game-winner for the Nats.
The Phils made a rally in the bottom of the inning, as they got the first two men on due to back-to-back walks. However, closer Drew Storen was able to get the next two men out. Although he did allow Philly to make one last push, Storen shut the door and sealed a 4-3 Nationals victory in ten innings.
The Nats were able to squander one game out of this three-game series much like they did in the opening series of the season against the New York Mets. They were defeated in the opener by a score of 3-1, and then came back to grab their first win of the season before losing the series on Thursday.
They have played two series’ this season and have lost both. The culprit for this – the hitting. Washington ranked dead last in the league in runs scored heading into Sunday’s action, as they scored just nine runs in the first five games of the season. The Detroit Tigers, who lead the league in that department, have scored 39.
Okay I have said it enough already. The win today was great, but let’s see some consistency from this starting lineup.