April 24, 2016 – Nationals 6, Twins 5 (16 innings) – Nationals Park

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/174231178/nationals-win-in-16-innings-with-walkoff-hr?game_pk=447139

 

Boswell column

 

Attendance: 35,397

Game Time: 5:56 (longest regular season game in Nationals history)

Weather: 64 degrees, sunny

Wind: 4 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Toby Basner, First Base - James Hoye, Second Base - Chad Fairchild, Third Base - Jim Joyce

Seventh/fourteenth inning stretch songs: Do You Love Me – The Contours / It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones

 

Q: What do you get when you combine a superstar getting a day off, his replacement in the starting lineup, the guy who took his spot after he pinch-hit, and a pitcher at the plate who hadn’t batted since 2010?

A:  The epic victory that will forever live in Nats’ lore as “The Twilight Zone Game”.

 

A greatly summarized blow-by-blow follows. On a couple of occasions I yelled “Great move Dusty!” from my seat; these are denoted by the abbreviation GMD.

 

·        On Kids’ Opening Day, with hundreds of kids in attendance wearing Harper jerseys, manager Dusty Baker opts to give RF Bryce Harper the day off.

·        Matt den Dekker, who Dusty played in RF instead of Harper, leads off the bottom of the first with a home run [GMD #1].

·        Strasburg is dominant through the seventh inning, despite allowing the tying run in the third.

·        The Nats fail to support Strasburg with any more runs, despite having two on with none out in the first and fifth innings.

·        In the top of the eighth, with two on and one out, Twins second baseman (and former member of the Bethesda Big Train) Brian Dozier works a full count and fouls the next two pitches off. Strasburg tries to get another fast ball past him, which he deposits into the left field stands for a 4-1 Minnesota lead.

·        The Nats strike back quickly in the bottom of the frame, on a two-run double by Wilson Ramos with none out off Twins reliever (and former Phillies prospect) Trevor May. With first base open the remainder of the inning, Dusty passes on a couple chances to use Harper as a pinch hitter, as the inning ends with the Nats still one run behind.

·        After Felipe Rivero retires the Twins 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, Baker finally sends up Harper to lead off the inning, batting for the struggling Michael A. Taylor. Naturally, Harper hits one out on a full-count pitch to tie the game [GMD #2].

·        In the bottom of the 10^th, with one out and one on and no position players left on the bench, Baker sends starting pitcher Joe Ross up to hit for Papelbon. Ross promptly singles [GMD #3], although the Nats fail to score.

·        Top and bottom of the 11^th inning – all 6 batters strike out. (Nats pitchers fanned 20 for the game, breaking the previous team record of 18 Ks in an extra-inning game.)

·        12^th through the 14^th – not a lot happens.

·        The Twins finally scratch out a run in the top of the 15^th off Yusmeiro Petit in his fifth inning of relief to take the lead.

·        In the bottom of the inning, Rendon and Werth are retired. With the pitcher’s spot on deck, the Twins walk Danny Espinosa on four pitches to bring up pitcher Oliver Perez, who hasn’t had a plate appearance in six years. To further insure their victory, the Twins bring in a fresh pitcher to face him. With no more relievers available, Baker has no choice but to let Perez bat. After Espinosa steals second, Perez shocks everyone by placing a nice bunt down the third base line. Twins catcher John Ryan Murphy picks up the ball and thows it past the first baseman and down the right field line, allowing Espinosa to score the tying run.

·        Perez gets the Twins out in the top of the 16^th.

·        Chris Heisey, whom Dusty put in RF in the tenth rather than keeping Harper in the game, leads off the bottom of the 16^th with a walk-off homer [GMD #4].