Span ties one Washington record, sets another
Center fielder equals single-season hits mark, breaks it for multihit games
WASHINGTON -- Denard Span put his name in the Nationals' record book in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Marlins. By collecting two hits, he broke Cristian Guzman's record for the most multihit games in a season with his 58th. Span also tied Guzman for the most hits in a season (183).
Span broke and tied the records in the bottom of the fifth inning. With right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, Span singled up the middle and later scored on a groundout by Adam LaRoche to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.
"I feel good. Christian Guzman was a [heck] of a player," Span said. "I watched him coming up in the Minors with Minnesota. It's just an honor to be mentioned with his name and to be mentioned in the same sentence as tying a record or breaking a record."
Span is arguably having the best year of his career. Besides hitting over .300, he is among the league leaders in runs scored (94) and stolen bases (31). Staying healthy and working hard are the reasons Span is having a productive season.
"Collectively as a team, we all had good years. I think we all fed off each other. That's really it," Span said. "When I am healthy, I'm capable of doing a lot of things. I love being a leadoff hitter and setting the tone and getting us going."