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Rendon Smacks HR In Nats Spring Home Opener

Rain delayed play for 66 minutes in the 4th inning but those that waited it out were rewarded in the 5th by seeing Anthony Rendon smack a two-run, opposite-field home run as the Nats and Marlins played to a 2-2 tie in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon.

The blast took starter Jordan Zimmermann off the hook as the Wisconsin native had given up a run over three innings in his first spring training start. He cruised through the first two frames but gave up a leadoff double then a walk in the third. A sacrifice and an RBI groundout put the first Miami run on the board.

Zach Duke followed Zimmermann with a 1-2-3 fourth while Yunesky Maya tossed three shutout frames after the rain delay, allowing just a hit and a walk while setting down one on strikes. Jeremy Accardo gave up a hit a walk but stranded them both in his first outing.

Drew Storen blew the save in the 9th, giving up a run on two hits and a grounder to the 3/4 hole to the first three batters he faced. Tanner Roark came on in the 10th and gave up a leadoff walk, then set down the next three batters.

The Nationals threatened to win it in the 10th as Eury Perez singled with one out but was thrown out when he tried to take 3rd on Matt Skole’s subsequent single. Corey Brown reached on an error to set up 1st and 3rd for Carlos Rivero, but the game ended when Rivero flew out to center.

Rendon was lifted after his homer and finished the game with a 1-for-3 mark as the starting third baseman. Following the rain delay, manager Davey Johnson sent in the substitutes. Here’s a look at how they did:

  • CF Eury Perez went 1-for-3 with a strikeout
  • 3B Matt Skole went 1-for-2
  • LF Corey Brown pinch-ran and doubled while going 1-for-3
  • RF Carlos Rivero went 0-for-3 with a strikeout
  • 1B Chris Marrero pinch-hit and turned an unassisted DP but went 0-for-2
  • SS Zach Walters went 0-for-2
  • 2B Will Rhymes pinch-hit and went 0-for-3
  • Sandy Leon went 0-for-3 in his first start at catcher

The Nats return to Port St. Lucie tomorrow night at 6 p.m. for a rematch against the Mets. The game will be televised on MLB Network.

3 Commments

  1. Byron Kerr is reporting that Spencer Kieboom is out for the year with TJ surgery. Any more info on Kieboom or thoughts re the Nats catching depth?

    1. No, there’s no more to say about Kieboom — he’s out this season, eliminating the hoped-for competition between him and Craig Manuel at Hagerstown, which I had been looking forward to in terms of seeing which of these two would develop the bat to catch up with the glove.

      A lot has been made about the Nats’ catching depth, but it’s been burned through with the injuries and the trades of Freitas and Norris. There’s Solano and Leon at AAA, with Maldonado thrown in the mix as a stopgap, but all are viewed as backups and only Leon is relatively young.

      Between AAA and Low-A is a gap. The injury “helps” Adrian Nieto and Cole Leonida, but they’re 23 and 24 respectively and neither has either played full-time or much above Low-A. As of now, it looks like they’ll split time again but for Potomac. Likewise, Beau Seabury and Kris Watts look like they’ll be catching for Harrisburg again.

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