Bryce Harper came to bat twice in the eighth inning and twice he delivered a double to right field as part of a nine-run eighth as the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros 14-9 this afternoon.
The second double of the inning gave Harper his two RBI and extended the Nationals lead from 11-8 to 13-8. He would attempt to steal third with two outs on the very first pitch to the next batter, coming around to score after a wild pitch and Kevin Barker double. Harper is now batting .308 for the spring.
Other notable prospects…
- Danny Espinosa once again got the start at second base and went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI and a strikeout.
- Derek Norris struck out in his lone plate appearance.
- Yunesky Maya started, but struggled in his 2⅔ innings, allowing a run on a home run (five hits total), walking one and striking out one.
- Cole Kimball went 2 innings and allowed a hit but struck out three
- Ryan Mattheus allowed a run on two hits while pitching the ninth inning. He struck out one.
With the win, the Nationals improve to 5-3 and travel to Port St. Lucie tomorrow to face a split-squad Mets team. Brian Broderick, Atahualpa Severino & Adam Carr are expected to pitch in relief.