Taylor breaks Statcast record with 493-ft. HR
DENVER -- With Rockies starter Yohan Flande cruising on Thursday, the Nationals needed a lift from someone, anyone. Then Michael Taylor stepped to the plate and delivered in an emphatic way.
With two outs in the seventh inning of Washington's eventual 3-2 loss at Coors Field, Taylor launched a game-tying two-run homer to left-center. The long ball, which was projected by Statcast™ to land 493 feet away, was the longest homer Statcast™ has tracked in the Majors this season.
Video: Must C Crushed: Taylor blasts deep drive in Colorado
After Flande walked Ryan Zimmerman, Taylor turned on a first-pitch 84-mph slider and crushed it toward the deepest part of Coors Field. The ball touched down and eventually one-hopped the outfield concourse.
"I was fired up, I was pumped," Nats starter Max Scherzer said. "When he hits a ball like that out of the park, that's what we needed. We were kind of grinding at the plate all night. Flande was making good pitches tonight. We just couldn't solve him.
"Then Mikey hits a blast like that, it's always a good thing for our team."
Taylor's shot, which according to Statcast™ had a launch angle of 26 degrees and an exit speed 110 mph, surpassed Nelson Cruz's homer on April 29 at Texas, which Statcast™ projected to land 482.7 feet away.
Video: SEA@TEX: Statcast™ tracks Cruz's tape-measure homer
In addition, Taylor's 11th homer of the season was tied for the third longest in Coors Field history. Mike Piazza launched a 496-foot shot in 1997, Giancarlo Stanton crushed a 494-foot homer in 2012, and Larry Walker unloaded for a 493-foot blast in 1997 as well.
"I just think [Flande] got one out, over and up," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "He didn't make many mistakes up tonight, but that one, Mikey got ahold of it. He's got power."
Video: WSH@COL: Taylor on monster homer vs. Rockies
But after Taylor struck out to end the game with the tying run on second, he seemed to have other things on his mind. When asked what he thought of hitting one of the longest home runs this season, the Nats center fielder kept it simple.
"Nothing," Taylor said.