Stat of the Day: Gomes goes grand
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Nationals this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
June 15: Nationals 8, Pirates 1 -- Gomes' grand slam
Yan Gomes' sixth home run of the season was also his fourth career grand slam. He had not cleared the bases since July 3, 2018, against the Royals. Gomes also had not recorded four RBIs since that game in Kansas City.
June 14: Nationals 3, Pirates 2 -- Soto's speed on the bases
When Juan Soto reached first base on a throwing error in the opening frame, he did so at a sprint speed of 28.2 feet per second. How was fast that for the Nats' slugger? The average among all players is 27.0 ft/sec, and Soto's average this season is 27.1 ft/sec.
June 13: Nationals 5, Giants 0 -- Ross gets the job done
With three sacrifice bunts -- to go along with eight scoreless frames -- starting right-hander Joe Ross tied Gio González for the most in a game by a Nationals pitcher. González tallied a trio of sac bunts on May 2, 2015, against the Mets.
June 12: Nationals 2, Giants 0 (Game 1) -- Fedde goes walk-less
June 12: Giants 2, Nationals 1 (Game 2)
After issuing at least one walk in his previous 18 starts dating back to Aug. 12, 2019, Erick Fedde did not give up free bases on Saturday. Controlling the baserunners was a key to his seven-strikeout performance.
June 11: Giants 1, Nationals 0 -- Espino's career-high 5 Ks
Pitching on short notice after Max Scherzer's first-inning exit, Paolo Espino recorded a career-high five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. The veteran right-hander has posted a 3.12 ERA with 11 strikeouts in his last six appearances.
June 9: Nationals 9, Rays 7 -- Rainey's first save
Entering the 11th inning, Tanner Rainey was set up to earn the save. When he recorded the final out of the game, he became the first National to record his first career save in extra-innings since Sammy Solis on August 24, 2017, against the Houston Astros, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
June 8: Rays 3, Nationals 1: Soto's fifth-fastest pitch hit
Juan Soto smacked a single off of a 99.7 mph pitch from Tyler Glasnow in the first inning. The pitch marked the fifth-fastest Soto has turned into a basehit in his career, behind:
• 101.4 mph from Thyago Vieira (2019)
• 100.8 mph from Tayron Guerrero ('18)
• 100.1 mph from Guerrero ('19)
• 99.8 mph from Guerrero ('18)
June 6: Phillies 12, Nationals 6 -- Seven-plus runs allowed
For the third time this season, the Nationals allowed seven-plus runs in a single inning. The Phillies scored seven in a deciding fourth-inning without any extra-base hits. The Nats previously surrendered nine runs in the fifth inning on April 13 vs. the Cardinals and seven in the second inning on April 15 vs. the D-backs. Prior to this season, they had not given up seven-plus runs in a frame since 2019.
June 5: Phillies 5, Nats 2 -- Soto's on-base streak in Philly
Juan Soto is very familiar with the basepaths at Citizens Bank Park. On Saturday, he reached base safely for the 18th consecutive game in Philadelphia, dating back to Aug. 27, 2018. Soto has a .434 on-base percentage during that stretch.
June 4: Nats 2, Phillies 1 -- Martinez winningest Nats manager
With his 225th victory, Dave Martinez became the winningest manager in team history. Martinez, whose first season at the helm was 2018, passed Davey Johnson on the leaderboard.
June 3: Braves 5, Nationals 1 -- Corbin provides depth
The Nationals have been looking for their starters to go deep into games to help preserve the bullpen arms. Southpaw Patrick Corbin has thrown at least five innings in seven straight starts, tossing 5 1/3 frames in the series finale against the Braves.
June 2: Nationals 5, Braves 3 -- Gomes does damage
When Yan Gomes hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning, it was the latest example of his success against the team's National League East rivals. In his 22 games vs. Atlanta since joining the Nats in 2019, Gomes is slashing .263/.307/.550 with seven homers. In comparison to the rest of his opponents during that time, Gomes has a .240/.312/.391 slash line with 14 home runs in 141 games.
June 1: Nationals 11, Braves 6 -- Soto racks up the runs
For the first time in his career, Juan Soto recorded four RBIs and four runs in a single game. His evening against the Braves included a two-run blast, his first home run since May 19.