Nats’ bats awaken just in time to even series
WASHINGTON — Things were looking bleak for the Nationals and their dormant offense until Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman took over.
Harper hit a tying tworun homer in the eighth inning and Zimmerman tacked on a three-run shot moments later to lift the Nationals to a 6-3 comeback victory over the defending World Series champion Cubs on Saturday, evening their NL Division Series at a game apiece.
The Nationals were in serious danger of falling behind 2-0 in the series, entering the eighth trailing 3-1 after dropping Game 1 by a 3-0 score. But after accumulating four hits through the first 16 innings of the postseason, the NL East champion Nationals broke out with five runs and four hits, led by 2015 NL MVP Harper and longtime face of the franchise Zimmerman.
“I was kind of bewildered, because it’s not too many teams or pitchers that have held us in check like that for a couple days,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. “I just knew in the bottom of my heart that we were going to explode for some numbers.”
The NLDS moves to Wrigley Field for Game 3 on Monday. The Cubs will have Jose Quintana on the mound, and the Nationals counter with two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who was pushed back in the rotation because of an injured right hamstring.
Jon Lester held the Nationals to just one run and two hits through six innings, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon turned to his bullpen.
After pinch hitter Adam Lind led off the eighth with a single, Harper crushed a hanging curveball from Carl Edwards Jr., taking a moment to admire his shot before chucking his bat to the ground as the ball reached the second deck in right field. His teammates in the dugout reacted immediately, screaming and raising fists as the ball tore through the night air.
“He made a bad pitch and the guy didn’t miss it, and that’s it. Sometimes that happens. Bryce is good. C.J. is good,” Maddon said. “Bryce got him.”
After the next two men reached, Zimmerman lofted a shot that barely cleared the green wall in left field.