A touchdown in the 4th making the difference is not new for Washington fans, but alas, this was baseball not football. The Red Sox scored seven times against the Nats in the 4th and cruised to an 8-4 win.
Five of those runs were charged to ace Max Scherzer, who had been perfect on his first turn through the Boston lineup, but was greeted by Tzu-Wei Lin with a leadoff HR to start the inning and retired just one batter before leaving the bases loaded with a 2-1 deficit.
Vidal Nuño followed the script for Washington relievers and allowed all three inherited runners to score, plus two of his own on four hits while retiring just two batters to finish the frame.
For “our guys,” Victor Robles continues to demonstrate this his status as a prospect is about to be over as he started in CF and went 1-for-3 while batting fifth. In eight games, he’s 6-for-18 with a HR, five RBI, seven runs scored, three stolen bases, and four walks.
Kyle McGowin was the only watchlist pitcher to appear, coming in to get the last out of the 7th and strand three runners (apparently, it can happen) then retiring the side in order in the 8th.
Here’s how the watchlist batters did while coming off the bench:
● Carter Kieboom pinch-ran for 2B Brian Dozier and scored a run, then went 0-for-1.
● Luis Garcia was the third SS and led off the 9th with a single.
● Jake Noll drove in Garcia with a one-out single in the 9th for the Nats’ final run.
Today is the first of two off days while the Nats are in Florida. The Mets come to West Palm Beach tomorrow with Stephen Strasburg slated to pitch against Jacob deGrom. The game will not be broadcast on either TV or radio.