After the 4th inning brawl last night, there was only one team up for the fight the rest of the series. That team was the Washington Nationals, who totally outclassed the Red Sox following that dust up. At one point, the Nats were out scoring the Sox 18-0 post brawl before the Red Sox got a couple runs in garbage time.
It is unusual to have such a clear turning point in a three game regular season series, but that is exactly
what happened here. At the time of the Contreras vs Cavalli fight, the Red Sox were winning 1-0. However, the Nats ended up taking control of that contest and dominated from start to finish in this one.
As they tend to do, the Nats offense set the tone early. Against young Red Sox ace Payton Tolle, a pair of right handed bats got to him. Curtis Mead started the fun with a triple in the gap. After that, we got a homer from an unlikely character.
Today felt like a pretty important game for Andres Chaparro. With a batting average well below .200 and no homers, the heat was turning up on the 27 year old first baseman. He responded in a big way, destroying a Tolle heater and sending it over the Green Monster.
The Nats had a chance to make that first inning a monstrous frame, but ended up having to settle for two. However, they kept the pressure on Tolle all afternoon. Even in the innings where they did not score, the offense was really making Tolle work. On a hot day in Boston, the big lefty began to fade.
A big turning point in the game actually came in the bottom of the third. The Red Sox had a rally going against opener Brad Lord. With runners on first and third, Blake Butera wisely pulled his opener and went to Andrew Alvarez, the bulk man. Alvarez rewarded his manager right away, inducing a double play on the first pitch he threw.
That set up the 4th inning where the Nats really began to run away with it. If the Andres Chaparro home run was surprising, Nasim Nunez going yard was a stunner. Nunez has provided value on the bases and in the field, and has even been hitting better lately. However, he did not have a home run all year despite playing most of the games. He changed that in a big way though, clubbing a first pitch fastball over the monster.
Tolle really began to labor after that, giving up a hit and walking a pair. After that his day was done. Even with a new pitcher on the mound, the Nats went right back to work. They made it a massive inning thanks to knocks by Luis Garcia Jr. and Jacob Young to stretch the lead to 7-0.
From there it was real smooth sailing for the Nats. Andrew Alvarez was sitting down Red Sox hitters with his sharp breaking balls, while the Nats offensive machine kept humming. They had good at bats all game long, and eventually had another homer, this time from a usual suspect in James Wood.
This was one of the more emotional series wins of the year. It further reinforced the idea that the Nats are back after the Phillies disaster. Turning the tides of the series after that brawl was also a great thing to see. That fight seemed to bring the team together and lock them in.
Tomorrow the boys have a much deserved off day, but it is back to business after that. They will face off against the Pirates on July 4th weekend in what should be an exciting series. The Nats and Pirates are right next to each other in the standings, so that series should be hotly contested. I can’t wait to see what unfolds, but this was one heck of a series win for the Nats.
