*Photo from CBS Sports*
Today, Anibal Sanchez was not his name. Today, he was Alejo. To open up players weekend 2019, Alejo pitched into the 9th inning, and had a nice day at the plate as the Washington Nationals offense kept up it's slugging pace as they topped the Chicago Cubs 9-3. Alejo had two perfectly placed bunts at the plate to help his own cause. He said that ''I'm not a good hitter, but if I can do something for the team on the home plate, it's good."
The Nats quickly jumped ahead in the first inning thanks to a solo homer by Adam Eaton. In the 3rd, Victor Robles scored on a sac fly from Trea Turner to make it 2-0. In the 4th, Kurt Suzuki hit an RBI single to left field, and Sanchez scored Suzuki thanks to his bunt that turned out to be an infield hit. In the 5th, Anthony Rendon scored on a wild pitch and Victor Robles hit a two run double to make it 7-0. In the 7th, Juan Soto hit a solo homer to center field, and in the 9th, Howie Kendrick doubled Soto home to make it 9-0. The Cubs got 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th when Tony Kemp scored on a fielding error, Nicholas Castellanos hit an RBI double, and Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI single.
Sanchez went 8 1/3 brilliant innings, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks. He also struck out 6 to improve his record to 8-6 on the season. Matt Grace got the final two outs for the Nats, striking out one. Jon Lester got the loss for the Cubs, lasting 4 1/3 innings, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits and one walk. He fell to 10-9 on the season. Chicago had their 5 game winning streak snapped. Lester wasn't happy after the game, saying that ''It's my job to do better, and I'm not, I let a five-game winning streak basically go down the wayside because I didn't throw the ball very well.'' Kyle Schwarber said that Sanchez ''did a good job moving the ball in and out, mixing up speeds."
The Nats offense continues to stay hot, even after their short turnaround from yesterday. They didn't get to Chicago until early Friday morning, but their lineup apparently didn't need much rest. Manager Dave Martinez said that ''They battled through a long night last night, came back here and were ready to play. They played really well and Anibal led that.'' Since August 5th, Washington has outscored opponents 129-66. The Nats continue to strengthen their lead on the first wild card spot in the NL, as well as put pressure on the division leading Atlanta Braves. The Nats currently are in second place and sit 5 1/2 games behind the Braves.
The Nats will look to continue their winning ways Saturday afternoon, as they send Joe Ross to the mound for the middle game of the series. The Cubs look to rebound by sending lefty Jose Quintana to the mound. Quintana is 7-0 in his last 9 starts. If anyone is interested in having the nicknames for the Cubs and Nationals for players weekend, here they are. Nationals and Cubs.
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