Playing most of the game without their manager and hot-hitting young star, the Washington Nationals squeaked out a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. Drew Storen struck out Alex Rodriguez with one on and two outs in the ninth to seal the victory.
Manager Matt Williams and right fielder Bryce Harper were each ejected by home plate umpire Marvin Hudson in the third inning, but the Nationals rallied to win the game following their absence. With the victory, they moved into sole possession of first place in the National League East for the first time this season.
THE RUNDOWN: This one was relatively straightforward — or at least it appeared that way until the bottom of the third inning. Trailing 2-1 with two outs, Harper took a called first strike and stepped out of the box. Williams yelled at Hudson, and Harper did something to garner an ejection. Williams came out to argue on Harper’s behalf, and he, too, was tossed. Fortunately for the Nationals, Tyler Moore homered in the next inning and Denard Span singled with the bases loaded in the seventh to pull them ahead. Storen, who has quietly exceeded even last year’s stellar numbers, pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the save.
THE HIGHLIGHT: Besides Williams kicking dirt on the plate, a la Lou Piniella? It probably came in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded and left-hander Justin Wilson fresh out of the Yankees’ bullpen, Span smacked a chopper through the left side of the infield, just beyond the reach of a diving Didi Gregorious. Wilson Ramos scored from third as the ball rolled into the outfield grass, giving Washington a 3-2 lead. It was RBI No. 13 this season for Span, who has now reached base in 22 of 24 games since coming off the disabled list last month.
STAR OF THE GAME: Overshadowed a bit by the ejections was another strong start by Zimmermann, who has shown continued improvement in recent weeks. On Wednesday, he allowed the first two hitters he faced to score but quieted the Yankees lineup thereafter. He allowed just five hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking just one. Though Zimmermann hasn’t looked like his usual self at times early this season, he has now recorded seven consecutive quality starts.
THE TAKEAWAY: This take is a bit warm to the touch, so get your oven mitts ready: I think Harper is at least partially at fault for his ejection. We’ll know more about exactly what happened after the game, and Williams appeared to somewhat fuel the argument, but Harper contributed to it, at least minimally. He had to do something to get ejected. And it’s the second time in seven days now that he’s been tossed from a game. A player of his caliber can’t afford to be ejected from games like this, especially when he’s in the midst of a historic hot streak. I understand that he plays the game with fire, passion and so on and so forth. I just think he needs to better control and direct that passion in situations like this one Wednesday night.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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