WASHINGTON -- Adam Eaton went for the ball. Victor Robles went for the ball. Neither outfielder ended up with the ball.
It was one of the defensive mishaps in a critical seventh inning in Washington's 3-2 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday at Nationals Park.
¡°It¡¯s unfortunate because we were playing a pretty clean game,¡± manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°We can¡¯t give teams that many outs.¡±
Let¡¯s rewind a bit before getting to that moment. The Nationals had built a 2-1 lead for Patrick Corbin, who began the seventh having thrown just 94 pitches. He was doing exactly what Washington needed from its starters -- going deep in the game to alleviate the workload on the relievers.
There would be a call to the ¡®pen soon after. Didi Gregorius, the first batter of the inning, sent a sinking line drive to left field, where a diving Juan Soto missed the ball. Soto had to cover 43 feet in just 3.2 seconds, creating only a 30-percent catch probability. The ball got by him, allowing Gregorius to race around for a leadoff triple.
¡°I think you¡¯ve got to understand the situation of the game and where we¡¯re at,¡± Martinez said. ¡°Up one run, for me, you concede the base hit. He¡¯s young, he¡¯s learning, but you just concede the base hit. You keep them at first base and hope for a double play. He thought he could catch the ball, but in that situation, you just want to keep the ball in front of you.¡±
That marked the end of Corbin's evening, and Washington called on Will Harris from the bullpen. Phillies rookie Alec Bohm jumped on the veteran's first pitch, sending a grounder past Eric Thames at first base and into right field. Gregorius scored the tying run, setting the stage for the outfield collision.
¡°Once the center fielder calls the ball, you¡¯ve got to respect that. He¡¯s the captain out there. You¡¯ve got to get out of the way,¡± Martinez said. ¡°I think what happened was, after talking to both of them, they both called it simultaneously and late. One didn¡¯t peel away from the other one. That stuff happens.¡±
After Roman Quinn bunted and reached on a fielder's choice out at second, Andrew McCutchen came to the plate and swung at a cutter from Harris. Eaton and Robles converged on the fly ball that traveled a projected 355 feet, according to Statcast. Both appeared to call for it, but they bumped into one another and the ball seemed to bounce off Eaton¡¯s glove.
¡°When the ball was hit, I knew Victor was playing him to pull,¡± Eaton said. ¡°So right off the bat, I thought it was going to be my ball, because he¡¯s so far. But he has such unbelievable range. I felt the need to call it there at the tail end. As I called it, and as he was speeding in, he called it right at the same time. Of course, when you yell, you don¡¯t hear anything. It was poor timing. I don¡¯t know if we could really have done anything differently.¡±
Robles recovered the ball to hurl it into the infield. He was able to hold Quinn -- the fastest player in the Major Leagues -- at second, but Quinn scored the go-ahead run two batters later off a Bryce Harper single to left.
The moment was a contrast from Tuesday's game, when Eaton and Soto helped vocally guide Robles on a stunning catch and equally impressive double play.
¡°Communication¡¯s huge,¡± Eaton said. ¡°Usually we¡¯re yelling, we¡¯re screaming. ¡ You see it perfectly with Vic the night before, and then tonight, it¡¯s just one of those things where we¡¯re both communicating at the same time and unable to have any luck. If I say it one more time, he hears me. If he says it one more time, I hear him.¡±
With the loss, the Nats dropped their third straight game and fell to 11-17, remaining in last place in the National League East. They will wrap up the homestand against the rival Phillies on Thursday.
¡°When it¡¯s a close game like that, it¡¯s unfortunate,¡± Martinez said. ¡°But we¡¯ve got to keep playing, forget about it and come back tomorrow.¡±