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MIAMI - The Nationals had Danny Espinosa on second with one out in the 10th. Ian Desmond, who's had six hits in his last nine at-bats, was at the plate, and Jayson Werth, who homered in the fourth inning, was due up behind him.
And Espinosa took off.
He got caught trying to steal third, effectively killing a 10th-inning rally that could have given the Nationals the lead and put Sean Burnett in position for a save. Instead, they're still tied with the Marlins at three apiece.
Espinosa is one of the Nationals' most aggressive baserunners, and if either Desmond or Werth singled to center or right, he was going to score easily. The only advantage of him making it to third would be that he could have scored on a sacrifice fly or a wild pitch, but with two of your best hitters due up, why risk it?
The fact that Todd Coffey got a 1-2-3 inning in the 10th makes it even worse, because the game could be over right now. As it is, we're headed to the 11th.
