*Photo from Sportsnaut*
Who would've thought a career minor leaguer would be the sparkplug in September this year? Joey Meneses hit an inside the park homer, CJ Abrams had two RBI's, and the Washington Nationals rallied to defeat the Miami Marlins with a 5-4 victory on Friday night in Washington.
Entering the weekend series having lost 5 straight games, the Nationals fell to an early deficit. However, they didn't let that stop them as they put together a good ole fashioned comeback, winning by a score of 5-4. Once again, it was all because of a play made by Meneses.
Nationals infielder Ildemaro Vargas said of the inside the park homer that "I think that woke us up. To have someone like Joey hit an inside-the-park home run, someone that’s playing very well, and as he’s running the bases, I can tell he was getting slower and slower, and just a little bit more tired. I’m very happy for him that things are going well for him, and it definitely sparked our offense."
The Marlins jumped out to an early lead when Bryan De La Cruz grounded out in the second, scoring a run to make it 1-0. JJ Bleday then scored on a groundout from Miguel Rojas, doubling the Marlins lead to 2-0. With Jordan Groshans on base, Lewin Diaz ran into a two run home run, adding to the Marlins lead and making it a 4-0 game.
Meneses started the comeback in the 7th with his inside the park home run to center field, making it a 4-1 game. Luke Voit scored on a sac fly from Victor Robles, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Abrams stepped up and tripled, bringing home two runs to tie the game 4-4. Meneses scored on a double from Vargas in the 8th inning, making it 5-4 Nationals to complete the comeback.
Asked about his inside the parker, Meneses said that "It really surprised me. As I’m rounding third, I never thought it would be an inside-the-park home run. What quickly went through my mind is, something must have happened out there."
Getting the start for the Nationals was Josiah Gray. He got a no decision, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings. Kyle Finnegan picked up his 9th save of the year with a shutout 9th inning, with Steve Cishek, Paolo Espino, and Carl Edwards Jr also pitching.
Starting opposite Gray was Miami's Jesus Luzardo, who allowed two runs on 5 hits in 6+ innings. Tanner Scott allowed two runs while pitching just 2/3 of an inning, requiring Huascar Brazoban to finish the 7th. Cole Sulser got the loss while pitching in the 8th inning.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly addressed the loss, saying that "If you get beat, it’s one thing. But when you don’t play solid baseball, when you’re giving free bases and giving free outs, those are things you don’t want to do. You are what you are and we are where we’re at, but you still want to play solid baseball."
Up next, the Nationals and Marlins continue their series on Saturday. Erick Fedde gets the start for Washington, while Trevor Rogers goes for the Marlins.
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