The day started with a pair of three-run rallies, giving the Nationals a cushy lead. They could coast the rest of the way, riding hot pitching and defense and their new-found timely hitting.
If only it had unfolded that easy.
Instead, it ended with their manager shedding tears in his postgame press conference, crushed by a rare move he was forced to make in a game that should not have been close.
In the end, an 8-5 Washington victory — its sixth in eight games — provided more sighs of relief than shouts of joy.
A game of many big plays had one move that stood out: in the seventh inning, with runners on first and second, Nats manager Frank Robinson switched catchers. Houston had stolen seven times off starter Matt LeCroy, who had also thrown two balls into center. So, with starting catcher Brian Schneider ineligible to come off the disabled list until today, Robinson inserted Robert Fick.
“I don’t like someone to go through what he had to go through today,” said Robinson, wiping away tears. ” I feel for him and I hope the fans understood. I appreciate [LeCroy] … I felt I had to do it for the good of the ballclub and to try and win. It would have been a devastating loss.”
Said LeCroy, “I don’t feel like he should be that emotional. I would have done the same thing. You’ve got to take your lumps in this game.”
But the Nationals survived because of many of the same qualities they’ve shown during their recent stretch. Their defense has been solid — third baseman RyanZimmerman made two nice plays in the fifth to save runs, including a diving stop of a liner to his right.
“It’s all reaction,” Zimmerman said of the diving catch. “You can’t practice it.”
Left fielder Alfonso Soriano misplayed a line drive, but recovered to catch it and double a runner off first in the eighth.
And the clutch hitting has improved dramatically the past two games in particular. After a four-run eighth on Wednesday, the Nationals used three-run innings in the first and second Thursday to help build a 7-1 lead.
Five of those runs scored with two outs, including a three-run homer by Jose Vidro in the second. The inability to get two-out hits contributed mightily to Washington’s woeful start to the season.
“It was just a matter of time,” said Zimmerman, who had a two-out, two-run single in the first. “The people in this lineup are too good. And once someone does it, it becomes contagious.”
