I cannot believe I am writing this, but Nasim Nunez led the Washington Nationals to victory with his home run power. The light hitting shortstop had never hit a home run in his big league career and had only hit nine in over 1,500 Minor League at bats. However, today was different.
On an early September afternoon with a sparse crowd, Nasim Nunez had the game of his life. Games like this are why we keep watching even when the season is lost and the vibes are low. You never know what can happen in baseball.
Today, Nasim Nunez reminded us of that.
He hit not one but two homers against the Miami Marlins. In addition to being the first two of his career, the moment was made even sweeter by the fact that Nunez was drafted by the Marlins and played four Minor League seasons with them. Prior to the 2024 season, the Marlins left Nunez unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft and the Nats selected him.
Before the Nunez magic, the Nats offense was already firing on all cylinders against the Marlins young ace Eury Perez. They scored three in the first thanks to a Luis Garcia Jr. two run single and a 113 mph RBI double by Jorge Alfaro who was making his Nats debut. Perez seems to be wearing down as the season wraps up and the Nationals made him pay.
In the second inning, Nasim Nunez’s moment came. On a 2-1 pitch, Perez threw a center cut fastball and Nunez did not miss. He yanked it into the bullpen out in right field. As he rounded the bases, he had a big smile on his face, as did everyone in the dugout.
Nunez is one of those super likable energy guys who just makes the whole atmosphere more positive. He also seems to be the one guy who is able to get James Wood out of his shell. You need guys like that around, especially when they provide elite defense.
However, Nunez was not the only guy to have a big day at the plate. Daylen Lile and Brady House also had multi-hit days. It has been a struggle for House offensively, so today was very encouraging.
His big moment came in the 4th inning when he deposited a hanging breaking ball from Perez into the left field seats. Before today, House had only homered in one game. That was back on July 12th when he left the yard twice against the Brewers. We know that House has the raw power, but we have not seen it enough in games. Today we saw that over the fence pop we know House possesses.
We were not done with the Nasim Nunez experience though. In the 8th inning, the charismatic Nunez came to the plate and did it again. This time he blasted a home run to the opposite field. I did not think Nunez had the juice to hit one out to left center, but he did just that.
This was a feel good day for the Nats. They secured only their second sweep of the season. The first one came in mid-May against a reeling Orioles team. However, this one came against a division rival they have struggled with this season. That one has to feel real good for the boys. Hopefully they can build on it to close out the season.
