This game was a pitcher’s duel until the top of the 5th inning when AJ Cole left some balls over the plate and a 1-1 tie game became a 4-1 deficit quickly when Giancarlo Stanton crushed a no-doubter 3-run home run into centerfield.
Vance Worley was helped by his defense once again even when he was on the ropes in a 3-2 count with runners on 2nd base and 1st base, Dusty Baker put the runners in motion and Ryan Zimmerman swung at a pitch above the strike zone to strikeout and Adrian Sanchez was easily thrown out at 3rd base. Instead of bases loaded and Adam Lind stepping in with one-out — the inning was over.
Speaking of Zimmerman, he hit into 3 doubleplays in the traditional sense of the 6-4-3 groundball variety, and the strike ’em out/throw ’em out variety, and an Adrian Sanchez TOOTBLAN turned a line-out to leftfield into Sanchez being “doubled” off of 1st base. Zimmerman’s batting average slipped to .302 with a .909 OPS on his 0-for-4 game leaving 5 runners-on-base.
The offensive star was Adrian Sanchez, he was 3-for-4 in the game with a sacrifice bunt that set-up the first Nationals run of the game. Brian Goodwin also had 3-hits in the game while Adam Lind chipped in 2-hits. Andrew Stevenson had a pinch-hit single in the game.
Anthony Rendon hit one ball to the warning track that normally would have been a home run for him and the rest of his at-bats just did not look like the Tony Rendon we had seen lately. Possibly a time for some rest. Matt Wieters did get a well-earned night off, and Daniel Murphy sat-out this game due to a sore hip. Howie Kendrick also didn’t play as he was nursing a sore back.
After the game, A.J. Cole told the assembled media that he strained his lat (latisimus dorsi) muscle and is day-to-day.
