Nothing to see here, just your everyday 9-4-5-2-6 putout
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WASHINGTON – The Nationals took the term “team sport” to a new level when five – yes, five – players were involved in a collaborative putout at home plate in their 7-5 win over the Twins on Thursday.
Let’s set the scene.
With Jake Irvin on the mound and Austin Martin on first base, Ryan Jeffers doubled into right field. Martin took off as the line drive bounced toward the warning track.
James Wood gathered the ball and fired it down the line to Nasim Nuñez, who was covering from second base. Nuñez caught it on one hop, then rocketed the ball across the infield to third baseman Brady House.
By then, Martin had rounded third. But the Nationals’ relay caught up to him.
House ran down the third-base line and threw the ball to catcher Keibert Ruiz. Martin recognized the defensive action and pivoted to get back to the bag.
Shortstop CJ Abrams had shifted over to cover third base, though Ruiz ran the ball back up the baseline and threw the ball to Abrams. He then chased Martin back down the line and applied the tag to keep it a two-run game.
Score it 9-4-5-2-6.
“It was cool,” said Irvin. “I wasn’t watching the runner at all, so I had no idea he was getting off. Then I saw Nas turn and throw the ball to third base. I was like, ‘What the heck’s going on?’ But take the extra out, that’s pretty sweet.”
The Nationals have been working on their defense by upping the intensity of pregame drills after tallying the most errors in baseball of any team in the Majors this season. The impressive defensive play shifted the momentum of the game. From then on, the Nats outscored the Twins, 7-3.
“[It’s good] to see us be able to execute a play like that, and have our heads up to find out where the runner is, and execute the throw, execute the rundown, and ultimately get the out – which was a huge out,” said manager Blake Butera, adding, “Those little things matter. They stack up. The more we can talk about them, teach, correct, and ultimately execute, it's fun to watch and it goes a long way.”