Sharp, “holding the glove high, and hiding the ball low, like a young Strasburg,” per Lee, tossed five shutout innings for his longest (and best) outing since he was sidelined in May. He gave up two hits and two walks and struck out three, with 40 of his 62 pitches going for strikes.
Luis Garcia led the contingent of three Nats position players, returning to his “early Fall form” with three hits and three RBI in five trips to the plate. In the field, Garcia had three assists and two putouts, including a tag-team with Sharp on a pickoff in the 2nd inning to kill a Solar Sox rally.
Nick Banks was the DH and went 1-for-4 with an RBI to improve to .219/.212/.438 in 32 at-bats.
Cole Freeman manned center field but continues to struggle at the plate (3-for-26), going 0-for-2 though he came around to score after getting hit by a pitch and drove in a run. He fielded two singles and caught two flyballs.
The two teams rematch today in Mesa.
GARCIA, LEE NAMED AFL FALL STARS GAME
Yesterday, the rosters for the Fall Stars Game were revealed with Luis Garcia and Andrew Lee making the cut. The game will be streamed online. No word on whether you’ll have to suffer Tom Verducci.