NEW YORK | Denard Span’s back has been bothering him for the majority of the past three days, forcing to leave one game early and sit another out altogether. But it wasn’t going to slow him down now.
After the 31-year-old hit a bouncer up the middle with two outs in the 11th inning Wednesday, he dropped his bat and lowered his head. He knew that only beating the throw to first base would allow Tyler Moore to score from third, bringing the Washington Nationals one step closer to a much-needed victory.
“Got to get on my horses,” Span thought as he sprinted down the first-base line. “We need a win.”
Span lunged for the bag with his final stride, narrowly beating Stephen Drew’s throw and clapping his hands when first-base umpire Lance Barksdale signaled that he was safe. That infield single, and the scoreless inning by Drew Storen that followed, gave the Nationals a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees in their final meeting of the season.
“We battled today. We battled back,” manager Matt Williams said. “It’s important for us to play to the last one. Today we did. We battled till the last out.”
Danny Espinosa went 3 for 5 and finished a triple shy of the cycle, while Michael A. Taylor hit a game-tying two-run home run to right field in the eighth inning. Casey Janssen and Blake Treinen then gave the Nationals’ offense a chance to reclaim the lead with three scoreless innings of relief, including two from Treinen in the ninth and 10th.
It was a long-awaited comeback for a team that has been starving for wins in recent weeks. The Nationals had lost nine of their previous 11 games.
“We’ll take every one we can get right now,” Span said. “[We’re] banged up. Seems like half the team is either on the DL or something’s nagging them. So we’ll take any victory, anywhere, anyhow we can get it.”
Span went 3 for 6 with a double and a stolen base Wednesday, but two hours before first pitch, he wasn’t even sure if he could play.
After leaving Sunday’s game against the Chicago Cubs in the eighth inning because of back spasms, the center fielder was a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup. The stiffness in his back has come and gone, disappearing during his time in the batting cage Tuesday, for example, and returning when he began stretching on the field.
On Wednesday, Span admitted that his back was bothering him even when he made the decision to play. It felt stiff as he took swings in the batting cages, but he decided to play anyways.
“I kind of just told myself, ’You know, let’s just go out there and go for it and see how it feels,’” Span explained. “’Hopefully it’ll loosen up once the game starts, and if it doesn’t, if it continues to hurt, then I’ll know something really wrong with it.’ And as the game went on, it loosened up and it felt OK.”
Span’s back issues didn’t show at the plate, but they did become noticeable in center field. In the seventh inning, Brendan Ryan hit a ball just out of the center fielder’s reach for a triple. Three batters later, Alex Rodriguez doubled over Span’s head for an RBI double. Though he said his back prevented him from running as aggressively as he normally would, Span did not blame the two plays on his injury.
“I’m not going to make any excuses,” Span said. “I’m on the field.”
The question now is whether Span will be back on the field Thursday, when the Nationals begin a four-game series in Milwaukee. He said his back felt “not too bad” after the game, but that was before the team’s flight. He has also been nursing a sore right knee after diving for a ball in Chicago during the team’s previous road trip.
Span will receive more treatment Thursday morning before a decision is made on his availability for the game.
“We need him in the lineup, and he knows that,” right fielder Bryce Harper said. “I think he’s one of the best leadoff hitters in the game, one of the best center fielders in the game. Every time he’s in there, I get fired up because we’re missing so many guys. So it’s definitely tough to battle it out, but he did that for us today.”
NOTES: In the eighth inning, Harper (22 years, 237 days old) faced Yankees left-hander Jacob Lindgren (22 years, 90 days old). It was the first time in Harper’s major-league career that he’s faced a pitcher younger than him. Ryan Zimmerman, who has been dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, was given a day off. He has now missed two of Washington’s past three games.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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