Washington was thought by some to be a potential seller ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, and even star center fielder Bryce Harper was mentioned in trade rumors the previous night. But Harper stayed put, then collected a pair of RBI doubles as part of the offensive barrage.
Former Met Daniel Murphy led the assault, going 3-for-4 with two home runs as the Nationals pounded out a team-record 26 hits. The 25 runs also were a franchise best, and marked the highest offensive output in the majors since the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 30-3 on Aug. 22, 2007.
Washington became just the 10th team in MLB’s modern era (since 1900) to score 25 or more runs in a home game, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The 21-run win also was the largest in Nationals/Expos history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
“It was pretty exciting,” Nats manager Davey Martinez said. “They came out to play today. Good at-bats all day. Tanner [Roark] pitching the way he pitched was awesome. Just all around a good day. Been an emotional day — good way to end it.”
Facing New York starter Steven Matz, the Nats were locked in from the start, batting around and scoring seven times during a first inning in which leadoff man Trea Turner collected two hits and two steals. Just hours earlier, it was Turner who made news for other reasons; he met the media and apologized again for offensive tweets he made in 2011 and ’12 that surfaced over the weekend.
The Nationals, meanwhile, proceeded to plate three runs in each of the next four frames, becoming the first team since the 2011 Rangers to score at last three runs in each of the first five innings.
The 19-0 lead through five innings marked only the second time that has happened in major league history, according to Elias. The first occurrence was on May 13, 1876, when the Hartford Dark Dukes held a 21-0 lead over the New York Mutuals through five innings.cheap nfl nike jersey
“The scoreboard kind of spoke for what the offense did today,” said Murphy, who’s now hitting .391 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs in 38 starts against his old club. “I think from the first at-bat of the game with Trea, and all the way through that first inning and through the whole game, even when Jose came in and pitched for them, we were still grinding out at-bats. All you can do is control the effort and make the choice to engage in every single pitch. Hopefully we will continue to do that, and I think we will.”
Washington’s final six runs came off Reyes, who became the 38th position player to take the mound this season, the most since the beginning of the expansion era in 1961.
Reyes made the first pitching appearance of his career, and the 35-year-old infielder got tagged for home runs to Matt Adams and Mark Reynolds in a six-run eighth. Throwing a fastball in the mid-80s mph range and a curve in the upper 40s, Reyes gave up five hits and walked two. He also plunked Ryan Zimmerman with a soft toss. After getting hit in the leg, Zimmerman playfully faked a charge toward the mound, drawing a laugh from Reyes.