The Nationals dropped back to a .500 record (29-29) after yesterday’s 7-5 loss to the Padres. Washington leads all of baseball in both runs scored (311) and runs allowed (317), though scoring may be at a bit more of a premium in today’s pitching matchup of Foster Griffin against San Diego ace Michael King.
1. The grand slam of walkoffs
In an overload of late drama, four different players ended games on Friday with a walkoff home run. The Mets’ MJ Melendez, the Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds, the Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar, and White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas all called game for their teams, with Melendez and Vargas both hitting their homers in the bottom of the tenth inning. Reynolds’ home run turned a 5-4 ninth-inning deficit into a 6-5 Pittsburgh win over Minnesota, while Tovar’s dinger was the final blow of a five-run outburst for Colorado in an 8-6 victory over San Francisco.
2. JPC’s career day
While not a home run, Randy Arozarena got in on the walkoff party with an RBI double in the bottom of the 10th that gave the Mariners a 7-6 victory over the Diamondbacks. J.P. Crawford scored from second as the ghost runner, highlighting an impressive night that saw the shortstop score four runs while going 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, and three RBI. It was the first multi-homer game for Crawford in his 10 Major League seasons.
3. Sasaki goes for six
The Dodgers have won five in a row for baseball’s longest ongoing winning streak, following Friday’s 4-2 result over the Phillies. All four L.A. runs came off solo homers against Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler, while Justin Wrobleski held the Phillies hitless until Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run of his own in the sixth inning. The series continues today with a pitching matchup of Jesus Luzardo against Roki Sasaki, with Sasaki still looking to get on track after posting a 4.93 ERA over his first nine starts.
