The Washington Nationals have done a lot of things since relocating to the nation’s capital. “He’s definitely a big boost”.
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That triple play helped Washington beat the Giants 4-1 and helped them escape a unsafe bases loaded situation in the eighth inning.
In this instance the 3-3-5 represented first baseman Ryan Zimmerman catching a line drive for the first out, stepping on first base for the second out, and then tossing to third baseman Anthony Rendon for the third out.
The Nationals have received brilliant pitching performances from right-handers Tanner Roark and Max Scherzer in the first two games of the series, only to have to sweat out exciting finishes once their fate got turned over to the bullpen. Crawford entered for defence in the ninth Saturday.
But new leadoff man Eduardo Nuez provided another jolt, hitting a two-run double in the fourth inning to kickstart a comeback from a three-run deficit.
The four-time All-Star retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced and finished with six strikeouts and two walks. Two more Nationals relievers each issued a walk, including one with the bases loaded to pinch hitter Trevor Brown that gave the Giants an insurance run. Nunez led off and played shortstop, giving regular Brandon Crawford a breather. The Florida native earned a win over the Dodgers on July 20 but was held out of the decision at Cleveland on Tuesday despite surrendering two earned runs in 6 1/3 frames.
It was not the best pitch I would want to hit, but you re down 0-1 already and it was a hittable pitch, definitely, Crawford said. He crushed it over the left field wall to make it 2-0, and the Nationals tacked on another run with consecutive hits to start the fourth inning. “Still being precautionary”, Baker said, noting the training staff advised him against using Murphy….
“There was one other one but I went to the bathroom and missed it”, Baker said.
Center fielder Denard Span also was out of the lineup because of a tender quadriceps from a collision at home plate Friday. Duffy will start his rehab assignment with Sacramento on Saturday and play five innings, then serve as the DH on Sunday – the first time he ll appear for the River Cats, since he jumped straight from Double-A to the big leagues in 2014.
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The Giants designated infielder Ramiro Pena for assignment to make room for Pence on the active roster. Gio Gonzalez gets the start for the Nationals, while Matt Cain takes the mound for the Giants. Nats starter Reynaldo Lopez gave up three runs on four hits and four BB over four frames with Yusmeiro Petit allowing two runs to get the loss. He would become the sixth pitcher in San Francisco history to win 100 in a Giants uniform, joining Hall of Famers Juan Marichal (238) and Gaylord Perry (134), Tim Lincecum (108), Kirk Rueter (105) and Mike McCormick (104).
